What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): A brief overview
CBT is a structured and goal-oriented form of treatment that can be used with a variety of different mental health disorders including, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and substance abuse (Chand et al., 2022). Aaron Beck can be considered the founder of CBT as he developed CBT in the 1960s after noticing that his patients with depression displayed unhelpful thinking (Chand et al., 2022). The simple idea behind CBT is that our thoughts can impact how we feel and how we behave. One way to notice our unhelpful thoughts is to identify cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions are unhelpful or unrealistic thoughts that can end up making someone feel worse. If the cognitive distortions (unhelpful thoughts) can be identified, then the cognitive distortions can be replaced with more realistic thoughts that in turn may help individuals feel better.
Below are some examples of cognitive distortions (Chand et al., 2022):
Overgeneralization: Applying what happened in one scenario to everything else that happens afterwards
Disqualifying the Positive: We do not give the proper credit to the positive events that occur and minimize them relative to the negative events that occur
Mind Reading: Thinking we know what the other person thinks or feels
Fortune Telling: Make guesses about what will occur before anything happens
Should Statements: Setting strict rules for ourselves by using words like “should” or “have to” that you will use regardless of the situation
Personalization: Placing all the blame for whatever occurs on yourself without considering external factors that have attributed to the event or placing the blame on everyone else without taking any responsibility for whatever role the individual has played in the situation
Reference
Chand, S. P., Kuckel, D. P., & Huecker, M. R. (2022). Cognitive Behavior Therapy. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470241/#:~:text=In%20the%201960s%2C%20Aaron%20Beck,(CBT)%20or%20cognitive%20therapy
