Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been applauded for its success in treating a range of health issues in recent years. CBT has been used a treatment for depression, anxiety, and even substance use disorders and addiction. What is it about CBT that helps therapists and individuals sort out a range of complex issues? There are several points to consider…
Background on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Simply-put, CBT is a way of looking at your thoughts, feelings, and actions; identifying the negative and positive; and changing your thoughts, feelings, and actions in a positive manner. This type of “Behavioral Therapy” has been around in different forms and under different names since the early 1900s.
Behavioral Therapist Albert Ellis, in the 1940s and 1950s, focused on “Cognitive Therapy” — finding that many people that are stuck in negative behavior patterns continue due to negative thoughts and feelings about themselves. A negative cognitive (thinking) attitude actually CAUSES people to subconsciously make bad or negative decisions, thoughts and actions. This established a connection between “Cognitive” and “Behavioral” psychology.
From the 1960s, therapy for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse has increasingly used Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help individuals recognized the causes of their issues and see a path to health and happiness through positive thoughts and actions. Not only has CBT been shown to help treat depression, it has helped those recovering from depression to stay happy and avoid falling back into depressive states.
Therapy for Clinical Depression
Clinical depression, and cases of prolonged or recurring depression can best be treated with regular counseling sessions and the use of CBT — both in therapy sessions and in the patient’s day-to-day life. As the patient begins to employ CBT in his/her/their daily life, they begin to recognize situations, thoughts, and feelings that could cause them to become depressed if they choose to let it. Upon recognizing they have a choice, they change their thoughts and actions to a more positive aspect — avoiding the depression trigger.
CBT Exercises and Practicing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
The more you learn about CBT, the more it will start to make sense. And, the more you practice CBT, the better you will become at it and the easier it will go. If you are still struggling to understand CBT and how it helps you with self-reflection and identifying patterns in your thoughts and behavior, the following CBT examples can be helpful.
Examples of Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Those who have long-recovered from alcohol use disorders using CBT are some of the best examples of how CBT can help you to change your thoughts and actions to more positive ones.
CBT and Recovering from Substance Use Disorders
“I choose to not drink,” say former drinkers and CBT users. “I used to not be able to control my thoughts about alcohol, and could not stop once I started. But now I can enter any situation I am faced with confidently. If I start to feel any negative emotions, anxiety, or if I start to feel ashamed now, I am able to stop that immediately and reverse the thoughts. It took a lot of practice and time to get as good as I am now, and as confident… but it works.”
How CBT Is Used in Couples Therapy
CBT is not just used in individual therapy, it is a great psychotherapy for couples therapy and marriage counseling. Too often in relationships, we forget about our significant other’s thoughts and feelings. Many people jump to conclusions and think they know what their partner is thinking and feeling. Or, they mistakenly think their partner has the same opinion on everything. Further, a spouse often believes both partners should have the same opinion on everything.
CBT can help BOTH partners to recognize their own negative thoughts and actions towards a partner. Cognitive Behavior Therapy helps you recognize when you are:
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- Overstepping your bounds
- Making decisions for your partner / without your partner
- Not thinking about your partner when planning things or making big changes.
- Not considering how your thoughts and actions will be received or viewed by your spouse.
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Example: “I did not even realize I was making decisions for both of us,” says one individual who had recognized controlling spousal behaviors through CBT. “I guess it was subconscious… I figured we had been married for 16 years and I know my husband and we think the same on everything. CBT taught me to slow down and not to jump to an answer on anything right away. When I brought that same thinking into our relationship and to how I feel and act toward my spouse, many of our problems and their solutions became crystal clear. We were able to resolve a lot of issues that we thought were too complicated.”
How to Avoid Depression Coming Back
Depression is known for being a chronic mental health issue, going through waves of up and down intensity. Sometimes depression and anxiety can go away for months or even years and suddenly return without warning. What makes depression return?
Depression comes from two parts: Bio-chemical, and Cognitive. The bio-chemical triggers for depression can range from poor diet, drug and alcohol use, hormonal changes, and underlying health conditions. Cognitive triggers can be anything from a dish in the sink to the death of a close friend. The cognitive triggers are a bit easier to control than depression triggering from body chemistry, and CBT is the best exercise for strengthening that control.
CBT For Treating Grief & A Broken Heart
CBT is also a prime psychotherapy type used for grief therapy, closure therapy, and discernment counseling. The biggest part of recovering from grief, the death of a loved one, or a divorce/breakup is learning to move-on and let-go. This is a very difficult set of steps for many to go through, and moving from one step of grief to the next is hard. CBT can help individuals to recognize that dwelling-on the negative, replaying the past, and focusing on regret are all negatives. They do not help you to move through life, and they are holding you back. Once, an individual is able to truly recognize the negative and unhealthy for what they are, they can be ready to accept the change toward the positive.
At AZRI, we utilize CBT for Couples Divorce Therapy and Marriage Counseling because it helps both couples to truly recognize the gravity of the situation and their decisions. All too often, those in the middle of a divorce or a break-up “go on auto-pilot” throughout the process, refusing to acknowledge the situation and embracing denial.
What Can Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Help With?
Depression is just one of the many mental health conditions that CBT has helped patients recover. In addition to clinical depression, CBT has shown positive effects in helping patients work through problems with:
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- ADHD
- Substance Abuse
- Alcoholism and Binge Drinking
- Quitting Smoking / Tobacco Cessation
- Improving Self Esteem & Self Image
- Eating Disorder Recovery
- Speech Disorders, Stuttering, Ticks, and Speech Impediments
- Chronic Pain Management without Medication
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How AZRI Utilizes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
The Arizona Relationship Institute and our therapists utilize CBT for any and all cases that they feel CBT can assist with. This is a great range of issues that CBT can be used to help including:
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- Couples Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Individual Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Sex Therapy
- Marriage Therapy
- Trauma Therapy
- PTSD Therapy
- More…
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CBT Therapy in Mesa, Arizona
At The Arizona Relationship Institute, our therapists heavily utilize CBT therapy in many of their individual, couples, group, and family counseling sessions. We use it because it truly does work, and has worked for many of our patients and therapists themselves!
