How does cognitive behavioral therapy work

Together, the client and the therapist can develop a plan to see dental treatment in a new way and overcome the fear. CBT is a form of psychotherapy where a person learns to change their perceptions, and how they see things in their life. This can have a positive effect on behavior and mood. A counselor and client work together to identify goals and expected outcomes.

The individual must be an active participant to benefit. Anyone considering CBT should find a qualified professional. A doctor may be able to recommend CBT specialists locally. Counseling and therapy can be costly, but self-help courses are also available. In , some researchers reported that an online self-help program for CBT was beneficial for people with chronic back pain. This could be promising as a cost-effective option for some people in the future.

Learn about the symptoms of anxiety, including when they might occur, what causes them, and what you can be do about them. Find out also how an…. Anxiety is a common condition that impacts a person's mental health, and it can also have short- and long-term effects on the body.

Anxiety can change…. Stress is essential for survival. The chemicals that it triggers help the body prepare to face danger and cope with difficulty. However, long-term…. A phobia is an irrational and overpowering fear.

A fear of flying and many other things can stop people doing what they want to, but treatment is…. Depression is a common mental health problem that involves a low mood and a loss of interest in activities. Learn more about the symptoms, different…. How does cognitive behavioral therapy work? Medically reviewed by Vara Saripalli, Psy. What is CBT? What can you learn? How do you learn? CBT aims to help you identify and explore the ways your emotions and thoughts can affect your actions.

Once you notice these patterns, you can begin learning to reframe your thoughts in a more positive and helpful way.

Read on to learn more about CBT, including core concepts, what it can help treat, and what to expect during a session. CBT is largely based on the idea that your thoughts, emotions, and actions are connected. In other words, the way you think and feel about something can affect what you do.

But another key concept of CBT is that these thought and behavior patterns can be changed. So, how does one go about reworking these patterns? CBT involves the use of many varied techniques. Your therapist will work with you to find the ones that work best for you. The goal of these techniques is to replace unhelpful or self-defeating thoughts with more encouraging and realistic ones. Homework is another important part of CBT, regardless of the techniques you use.

This might involve more practice with skills you learn in therapy, such as replacing self-criticizing thoughts with self-compassionate ones or keeping track of unhelpful thoughts in a journal. It can also help with:. These examples can give you a better idea of how CBT might realistically play out in different scenarios. You and your partner have recently been struggling with effective communication.

Your partner seems distant, and they often forget to do their share of household chores. You mention this in therapy, and your therapist helps you come up with a plan to deal with the situation. Your therapist asks about other possible interpretations.

But this makes you feel anxious, so your therapist teaches you a few relaxation techniques to help you stay calm. Finally, you and your therapist role-play a conversation with your partner. To help you prepare, you practice conversations with two different outcomes. In one, your partner says they feel unsatisfied with their job and have been considering other options. In the other, they say they might have developed romantic feelings for a close friend and have been considering breaking up with you.

Your anxious thoughts center on things that happen at work. They ask you to keep track of negative thoughts that come up at work, such as specific times you begin worrying about losing your job. You also explore your relationships with your co-workers to help identify reasons why you feel like they dislike you. In time, you begin to realize your thoughts are linked to a fear of not being good enough at your job, so your therapist begins helping you challenge these fears by practicing positive self-talk and journaling about your work successes.

A year ago, you survived a car crash. You feel panicked when getting into a car and often have flashbacks about the accident. There are helpful and unhelpful ways of reacting to a situation, often determined by how you think about them. For example, if your marriage has ended in divorce, you might think you've failed and that you're not capable of having another meaningful relationship. This could lead to you feeling hopeless, lonely, depressed and tired, so you stop going out and meeting new people.

You become trapped in a negative cycle, sitting at home alone and feeling bad about yourself. But rather than accepting this way of thinking you could accept that many marriages end, learn from your mistakes and move on, and feel optimistic about the future.

This optimism could result in you becoming more socially active and you may start evening classes and develop a new circle of friends. This is a simplified example, but it illustrates how certain thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions can trap you in a negative cycle and even create new situations that make you feel worse about yourself.

CBT aims to stop negative cycles such as these by breaking down things that make you feel bad, anxious or scared. By making your problems more manageable, CBT can help you change your negative thought patterns and improve the way you feel. CBT can help you get to a point where you can achieve this on your own and tackle problems without the help of a therapist.

In such cases, talking about the situation is not as helpful and you may need to learn to face your fears in a methodical and structured way through exposure therapy. Exposure therapy involves starting with items and situations that cause anxiety, but anxiety that you feel able to tolerate. You need to stay in this situation for 1 to 2 hours or until the anxiety reduces for a prolonged period by a half.

Your therapist will ask you to repeat this exposure exercise 3 times a day. After the first few times, you'll find your anxiety does not climb as high and does not last as long. You'll then be ready to move to a more difficult situation.

This process should be continued until you have tackled all the items and situations you want to conquer. Exposure therapy may involve spending 6 to 15 hours with the therapist, or can be carried out using self-help books or computer programs. You'll need to regularly practice the exercises as prescribed to overcome your problems. CBT can be carried out with a therapist in 1-to-1 sessions or in groups with other people in a similar situation to you. If you have CBT on an individual basis, you'll usually meet with a CBT therapist for between 5 and 20 weekly or fortnightly sessions, with each session lasting 30 to 60 minutes.