What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
Published October 19th, 2023
7 min read
Everything you need to know about CBT and how it works.
Written by Simon Spichak
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective psychological treatment for helping people with their mental health, and controlling their emotions by changing negative or harmful thoughts and behaviours. For depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions, combining CBT with medications can be more effective than just one of these treatments alone.
Since the core principles of CBT can be highly personalized, patients will often develop goals in conjunction with their therapist for what they want to achieve. Then, CBT is tailored to meet these goals by changing maladaptive thoughts and behaviors.
For example, to deal with stress and anxiety better, your therapist might use CBT to help you face the uncertainty while introducing a healthier behavioural response — going for a walk instead of shutting yourself in and binging a show all night.
How does CBT work?
CBT is based on the idea that certain ways of thinking and unhelpful behaviours partly contribute to psychological problems. We can improve our mental health by changing these ways of thinking and our behaviours.
During CBT, you will learn to name, question, and change some of your thoughts, attitudes, or beliefs that negatively impact your mental health. This involves some introspection, where you may need to practice writing down your feelings, analyze how you react to situations, and think about how you’d like to change.
Crucially, you need to be able to communicate these thoughts and behaviours with your therapist. It also involves quite a bit of practice — your therapist may provide some worksheets or exercises for you to master CBT. There is some evidence that CBT leads to changes in the brain that lead to better cognitive and emotional regulation.
What can CBT treat?
CBT is very popular because it is shown to be effective for many different mental health conditions and often takes fewer sessions than other forms of therapy. People with one of the following conditions can benefit from CBT:
Depression
Bipolar disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder
Social anxiety disorder
Other fears, phobias, or panic disorders
Eating disorders
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Substance use and abuse
Types of CBT
There are many different types of CBT. Some therapists may specialize in one or more of these types, while others may use various techniques to help you improve your mental health.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can help people let go of the feelings associated with past events and focus on the present. Unlike other forms of CBT, ACT does not intend to change your thoughts but rather how you respond to events.
Cognitive processing therapy
Cognitive processing therapy is primarily used for treating people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It focuses on making you more aware of the thoughts and emotions associated with PTSD symptoms, helping you change these negative thoughts, and learn to overcome the trauma.
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) teaches mindfulness, cognitive skills, and other coping strategies to counteract unhealthy thought patterns and behaviours. It helps you learn how to respond to events and emotions in ways that are more consistent with your goals and values.
Multimodal therapy
Multimodal therapy takes a close look at seven interconnected components that affect your mental health: behaviours, affect (your mood), sensation (what you feel), the negative cognitive imagery you might see in your brain, cognition, your interpersonal relationships, and any considerations involving other conditions or treatments you might be taking.
Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT)
Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) focuses on challenging unwanted, unhelpful, or intrusive thoughts or beliefs that affect how you feel. The goal is to change these thought patterns to boost your psychological or mental health.
What does CBT teach you?
There are many essential skills that you can learn through CBT. Here are a few that we think are useful:
Zeroing in on your emotions. Therapists equip you with the skills to describe your feelings better. Often, this involves an emotion wheel where eight basic emotions are broken down further into more granular feelings. These basic emotions are sadness, disgust, anger, anticipation, joy, fear, surprise, and trust.
Introspection. This involves identifying your thoughts, even the negative, uncomfortable ones. Introspection is a process of self-discovery that a therapist can talk you through. Later, you’ll become skilled at doing this daily, making you more mindful.
Goal setting. Your therapist can help you create a plan to reach goals using the SMART framework. This ensures that your aim is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.
Solving and adapting to new problems. Using the skills you’ve learned throughout CBT, you’ll be better equipped to solve life's problems. These skills can even make learning new techniques involving mindfulness, emotional regulation, or cognitive control easier.
Getting started with CBT
Curious to learn more about CBT? You can read more about this type of therapy by checking out these resources:
If you’re ready to start your mental health journey, Resolvve’s psychotherapists offer affordable therapy, starting at $30 with highly supervised student therapists and $100 with our experienced registered psychotherapists. The first 15-minute consultation is always free. You can book your first appointment here.
Please note that this post is written for educational purposes; it is not therapy. If you need to talk to a professional, please book a consultation with a psychotherapist through Resolvve.
