What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? Guide to CBT
Clinical Review by:
Published:
Oct 11, 2024
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07:40 p.m.
ET
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, also referred to simply as CBT, has become a gold standard for treating many types of mental health challenges. While other therapy techniques have fallen to the wayside, CBT is being used as the first line of defense to help treat disorders including anxiety, depression, OCD, behavioral addictions and eating disorders.
CBT has many benefits, such as shortened treatment times and lower rates of long-term symptom relapse. This article provides an overview and guide to what CBT is and how it can help treat a variety of mental health diagnoses.
How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy works
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has become one of the most popular forms of psychotherapy that is used in treating mental health diagnoses. CBT combines two different types of therapy, cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. Cognitive therapy is used to identify and change negative thoughts. These negative beliefs are then challenged with more positive or less harmful ones. Behavioral therapy is based on the premise that human behavior is learned and therefore can be changed. It also explores what behaviors negatively impact someone's life and how those behaviors can be changed into positive ones.
The primary function of CBT combines both concepts. CBT explores how one's thoughts, feelings and behaviors interact with one another and how that interaction negatively affects someone's life. CBT challenges someone to look at what negative thoughts or perceptions impact how they feel, and in turn lead to undesirable behaviors. CBT can give someone an active role in their treatment by knowing what positive changes they can make in their own life.
Can CBT be done virtually or only in-person?
CBT can be done through in-person therapy or virtually. A study done by the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported that CBT done in a virtual setting is just as effective as doing CBT in-person. The study also reported that remote CBT therapy was equally as effective as in-person therapy for a wide range of mental health diagnoses and somatic disorders. After the global pandemic in 2020, virtually CBT therapy became a necessity and over time the benefits of virtual therapy have become more widely appreciated.
What is CBT used to treat?
CBT can successfully treat a variety of mental health diagnoses. CBT is most commonly used to treat:
Depression
Eating Disorders
Gambling Addiction
Other behavioral addictions
Anxiety
OCD
PTSD
Substance Abuse
Hypochondria
Phobias
If you’re interested in pursuing virtual CBT, Birches Health offers 100% remote mental health specialists whom you can speak with from the comfort of your own home. Birches’ therapists are trained in treating a multitude of mental health challenges, including gambling disorder, through CBT and other proven methods.
Here are some options for getting started with Birches Health:
You are also welcome to call 833-483-3838 or email at hello@bircheshealth.com to connect with the Birches team as soon as possible.
Comparing CBT to other types of therapy
In a meta-analytic review of 26 studies that compared CBT to other types of therapy, it was found that CBT is in fact more effective in treating certain mental health disorders. Depression and anxiety are two diagnoses that CBT is empirically more effective in treating than other therapy techniques. Participants who were treated using CBT were found to have lower instances of their primary symptom they sought treatment for, post-treatment. They were also found to have higher success rates of symptoms not returning one year after the conclusion of CBT treatment versus other types of therapy.
CBT tends to be a shorter duration of therapy versus other techniques. CBT simplifies a problem, focusing on current situations that negatively affect behavior while other therapies like psychodynamic therapy delve into someone's past to help shape their current treatment in therapy. Another study revealed that CBT can be even more effective than medication in treating certain diagnoses as well. CBT was also found to have the lowest rates of symptom relapse compared to traditional talk therapy and medication.
Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT can be very beneficial for many people. By allowing people to understand how their thoughts influence behaviors, it can provide more insight into their disorder and how to help themselves through it. This can give someone a very positive and involved approach to changing negative behaviors. CBT can be very empowering for someone who has felt helpless to change how their disorder affects various aspects of their life and improve self-esteem and an overall view of their mental health diagnosis.
