What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is founded on the concept that all thoughts, emotions, and actions are connected. With this concept in mind, CBT has the following core principles:
- People can have psychological issues.
- Psychological issues are based on learned and unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviors, as well as problematic core beliefs.
- People experiencing psychological issues can learn better ways of coping that relieve their symptoms and improve their mental and emotional health.
With this in mind, the goal of CBT is for you to take an active role. Your therapist helps you unlearn negative thoughts and behaviors and replace them with healthier thinking patterns and habits. By asking thoughtful questions, they help you gain a different perspective and respond better to stress, pain, and difficult situations.
CBT is a form of talking therapy that treats or manages mental health conditions and emotional concerns. As one of the most common and best-studied forms of psychotherapy, it is supported by organizations like the APA, Healthline, and Mayo Clinic.
Finding a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist in Spokane, WA
Cognitive behavioral therapists are available in Spokane, Washington. To verify if a cognitive behavioral therapist is a good match for you, you can ask them the following questions. In fact, you can ask us the questions below during your initial consultation with an Spokane Counseling Hub cognitive behavioral therapist.
- What is your training and experience with CBT?
- How many clients with my issue have you treated?
- Are there alternative therapies if CBT isn’t the best fit for me?
- What should I expect if I feel overwhelmed?
What Mental Health Conditions Can CBT Treat?
CBT helps address the following conditions in individuals:
- Anxiety
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Depression
- Eating disorders, including bulimia, anorexia, or binge eating disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Phobias
- Personality disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Substance use disorder and alcohol use disorder
What Mental Health Conditions that CBT Cannot Treat?
CBT cannot treat complex trauma. Because unresolved trauma changes a person’s nervous system, present-day triggers from past events leave them in an activated state of distress. When a person is distressed, their ability to objectively assess thoughts is also negatively affected. making their ability to evaluate their thoughts objectively suffer. See our article, “EMDR Therapy in Spokane” to learn one of our approaches to complex trauma.
How Cognitive Behavior Therapy Works
Cognitive behavioral therapy provides a supportive and non-judgmental environment where an individual can openly talk with their mental health professional about their issues. CBT lasts about 5-20 sessions, depending on the complexity of the challenges and symptoms the individual is experiencing.
CBT takes time and can be uncomfortable as you gain an understanding of your problems. Through various strategies, CBT treatment helps you change negative thinking patterns:
- Become aware of one’s distortions in thinking that are creating problems
- Understand the behavior and motivation of others
- Face one’s fears
Once an individual becomes aware of their problems, their therapist will help them change negative behavioral patterns:
- Develop a greater sense of confidence in one’s abilities
- Use role-playing to prepare for possible problematic interpersonal interactions.
- Learn how to calm one’s mind and body.
Types of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies
The following forms of therapy fall under the CBT umbrella:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT is effective for individuals with intrusive thoughts or catastrophic thinking as it addresses learning to accept negative or unwanted thoughts.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT focuses on managing emotions and interpersonal relationships. It is originally developed for borderline personality disorder (BPD).
- Exposure Therapy: This form of treatment slowly desensitizes the individual by slowly introducing anxiety-inducing activities or situations for measured periods of time.
- Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): MBCT uses mindfulness techniques and meditation with cognitive therapy for people with PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT): As the original form of CBT, its techniques address harmful thought patterns and how they influence emotions or behaviors.
What to Expect in Your First Cognitive Therapy Session
It’s normal to be nervous in your first session. While your licensed therapist is trained for the job to help you, it’s still an experience of sharing your difficulties with a stranger. To become more familiar with your first session, here’s what you can expect:
- The first few sessions help your therapist understand your challenges and symptoms. They may ask the following questions:
- How you feel
- Symptoms that manifest physically as they can be a form of emotional distress manifesting in your body
- What are your goals for therapy, or what do you want from treatment
- You can also share your concerns, like:
- If you need to take medication with therapy
- How do you know therapy is helping
- What will happen in other sessions
At Spokane Counseling Hub, our licensed cognitive behavioral therapists are welcome to start your journey with us in Spokane, WA.
CBT Research in a Nutshell
CBT is one of the most researched forms of psychotherapy. Here are some of the studies proving its effectiveness:
- CBT is claimed to be the gold-standard treatment in psychology as it is the most researched and in-line with the current mainstream paradigms of the human mind and behavior.
- In a review of 269 meta-analyses, BCT is effective for addiction and substance abuse disorder, depression, dysthymia, anxiety disorders, bulimia, insomnia, and stress management.
- A 2018 meta-analysis of 41 studies found that CBT helped improve symptoms in people with anxiety and anxiety-related disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Receive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Spokane, Washington
CBT helps individuals understand negative thoughts and behavior patterns and replace them with healthier ones. At Spokane Counseling Hub, we provide CBT techniques to empower people to change. Our CBT treatment is available through in-office or online therapy. Schedule an appointment with us today for CBT treatment in Spokane, WA.