CBT is also very helpful in treating substance use disorder and other behavioral health issues. CBT can also be used for treating people who struggle with stress or daily life problems. CBT is a short-term model that is complete within 12-16 sessions. This is in contrast to talk therapy that can go on for years by delving deeply into past experiences.

The reason why so many mental health workers prefer using CBT is its track record for leading someone to real change. Many of the patterns people adopt are the result of disordered thoughts and feelings, and how we then respond to them.

Over time we create bad habits in regard to how we think and behave that later cause trouble in our lives. By teaching the person new healthy thought and behavior patterns, CBT can help replace the former negative habits.

The History of CBT

Dr. Aaron Beck shaped the CBT model in the 1960s while he studied depression. He found his own theories debunked by the results. He learned that patients with this mental health disorder expressed negative thoughts about their views of self and the world. He began working with the patients to help them change these thoughts. He would then help them create a more balanced response to the thoughts. He then found the patient would begin to change their thoughts and beliefs toward new healthy ones. They began to feel more upbeat and positive as a result of making these shifts.

How CBT Works

CBT helps us focus on making better thought and behavior connections in our daily lives. How often do we react to a trigger—something that provokes bad thoughts or feelings—and then act on it?

When this occurs the brain sets up a neural pathway that connects the trigger with the response. The brain then becomes hardwired to respond that way each time the trigger is present. When the pattern happens over and over, it can create distorted thought/behavior patterns.

Examples of this are thoughts like, “I will never get to sleep,” or “I am worthless.” These faulty beliefs can have a profound impact on the actions that follow them. It has been learned that false beliefs about oneself can lead to substance abuse. The action taken then further confirms the bad thoughts and the cycle repeats.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy teaches the person to reframe the thoughts or feelings into healthy self talk. This can help shift the way someone responds to a trigger and prevent the bad outcome, such as substance use.

CBT works with the client to help them take note of self blame, guilt, shame, or negative thoughts. Once the person sees the trend they will know how those thoughts caused problems in their lives.

Changing these negative patterns takes time. But with practice and helpful guidance by a CBT therapist it is possible to make real changes in your life.

CBT is Not A One-Size-Fits-All Therapy

CBT therapists will make small shifts to the techniques used in treating each mental health or substance use problem. During that first meeting, the clinician will create treatment goals and a CBT plan just for that patient. The CBT plan that might be helpful for one patient may be quite different from a CBT plan for someone else.

In spite of the varied types of CBT plans for patients based on unique mental health problems, the main goal is the same. That goal will always focus on helping patients make healthy changes in their thoughts and actions. So for people with substance use disorder, CBT provides useful coping skills for battling the triggers. For someone with anxiety, CBT helps them respond in a new way to feelings of fear or worry.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps the person to notice right away when they are thinking negative thoughts, and to quickly change the thought. They are taught how to shift the thought and behavior toward something constructive. CBT can be used in one on one talk therapy sessions or in group therapy formats.

This type of therapy is called an evidence-based therapy because its results have been studied and measured in a science based manner. A large body of research supports CBT as a useful tool in treating many mental health problems. These studies prove that shifting thoughts from harmful ones to helpful ones can improve how patients function.

Change Your Life with CBT

CBT is based on hard data that confirms its effectiveness for treating so many types of mental health issues. It is a widely accessed type of therapy. It has been embraced in both the mental health and substance abuse fields because it works. The fact that it is a short term therapy makes CBT very useful for rehab settings.

Instead of a long-term treatment journey delving into the persons childhood and past, stay focused on the present. CBT takes into account how a past trauma might affect the person’s present day issues, but doesn’t get stuck there. Instead, it’s focused on the matter at hand and provides a road map toward gaining a better quality of life.

While it takes time to work the new thought patterns into daily life, with practice these become healthy new habits. If you struggle with substance use, mental health issues, or eating, gambling, sex, or video gaming addictions, reach out to us. The Treatment Specialist provides guidance in finding CBT treatment programs. Reach out to The Treatment Specialist and begin to make positive changes in your life with CBT.  Call (866) 644-7911 today.