What is it about ?
Cognitive behavioral therapies are treatment methods derived from psychiatry; they combine cognitive therapy and behavioral therapies. Cognitive therapy assumes that a person’s emotional life and actions are influenced by their thoughts (cognition). Behavioral therapies focus on behavior: the way a person acts also determines a lot how they feel. The starting point for cognitive behavioral therapy is therefore: a person’s thoughts influence their behavior and how they feel, and vice versa.
Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people understand and teach them to control their behavior, and if necessary change it. It is important to understand the way of thinking. The approach consists of interviews with a psychologist or psychiatrist and tasks and exercises to be done at home and in real life.
The ultimate goal is always to learn how to better deal with emotional issues, such as fear, anger, sadness or guilt. During therapy, we sometimes also try to better understand certain events from the past. Could they explain the anomalous ideas and / or behaviors of today? Nevertheless, cognitive behavioral therapies are much more focused on the present than on the past.
Thanks to the exercises during the consultation, in real life and the tasks at home, one gradually comes to have new thoughts and more positive behaviors. Research shows that behavior change and thinking change go hand in hand. Both forms of psychotherapy use the same methods, such as exercises and home chores.
Cognitive behavioral therapies are effective, especially in depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social phobia, post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety in children.
What can you do ?
The goal is self-monitoring. It means that you take control of your feelings, thoughts, and your own behavior. You will become more successful at this as you complete tasks between therapy sessions (homework).
You take control by carefully noting a few things. If you’ve been through a situation that caused a strong emotional reaction, start by examining what images and thoughts came to you at the time. Who were you with, what were you doing, when was it, where were you? What were your feelings at that time? How strong were your feelings (on a scale of 0 to 100)? Try to remember the automatic thoughts and images you had then. You bring your notes to the next doctor or psychologist appointment.
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