Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) refers to a range of evidence-based treatments based on behaviorism. A common misunderstanding is that CBT is used to stop specific thoughts. Although unhelpful thoughts often decrease when we stop reacting to them, primary aims of CBT are decreasing unhelpful avoidance strategies and increasing goal-oriented, values-based behaviors. CBT has grown in popularity and it is important for therapy consumers to know that proper implementation of CBT requires years of training on the part of the clinician and significant effort outside of therapy on the part of the client.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a scientifically-supported and action-oriented method of therapy that helps clients become aware of and change their relationship to thoughts and avoidance behaviors. CBT has been found to be as effective as medication for a number of psychological problems (such as anxiety and depression).
The goal of CBT is to increase family, work, school, and general life functioning by reducing physical, psychological, and behavioral symptoms of stress and increasing positive goal-oriented behaviors. CBT works best when the client and therapist work as collaborative partners and clients are motivated to change.
A key difference between CBT and other forms of psychotherapy is that CBT makes use of client gathered data throughout the treatment process. Cognitive behavioral therapists collect data in order to measure improvement and reduction of avoidance behavior. Therapists design treatments based on individual case conceptualizations with clients.
In addition, a specific behavioral treatment that is used for anxiety and phobias at the Cognitive Behavior Therapy & Mindfulness Center is Exposure Therapy (see Exposure Therapy). In many cases coping skills are an important treatment component offered at our center. Examples of coping skills are progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), breathing retraining, pivoting into value-based behavior, actively working with unhelpful thought processes, and challenging beliefs about automatic thought habits.