Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

The idea behind cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is that our thoughts impact the way we feel and behave. For example, if I believe that roller coasters are dangerous I will probably feel scared and may decided not to go on any roller coaster rides as a result. Alternatively, if I believe roller coasters are safe and fun I will probably feel excited and decide to ride the roller coaster. In this way my belief about roller coasters has impacted both my feelings and my actions.

Cognitive behavioural therapy also proposes that our feelings can influence the way we behave and think. For example, if I feel a lack of motivation I may decide not to complete my chores and that may cause me to think that I am not good enough.

Lastly, CBT tells us that our behaviours can influence the way we think and feel. For example, if I consistently decided not to go out with my friends I may start to feel sad and may start to think that I am not good in social situations.

Therapists using cognitive behavioural therapy to help treat mental health concerns usually help people change their thoughts and/or their behaviours. Why is it helpful to change our thoughts? Cognitive behavioural therapists believe that our thoughts are not always completely based on facts.

For example, individuals struggling with anxiety disorders have worst case scenarios thoughts such as my partner did not answer their phone they must have been in a car accident! This thought is not based on facts. There is no way to know why they did not answer and there are other possible explanations such as their phone is off, they are busy, or the phone network is down.

Therapists using CBT help clients challenge their thoughts to bring them more in line with the facts of a situation. Why? If our thoughts are more in line with the facts our feelings and behaviours will be different too. CBT helps us change two different types of thoughts: automatic thoughts that pop into our head quickly on a regular basis and core beliefs which are deeply held ideas about ourselves, others, and the world around us that we develop from a young age as a result of our past experiences.

CBT therapists also target behaviours as an area for change. For example, if someone is afraid of spiders holding a spider and learning from experience that it is not dangerous can help reduce that person’s anxiety around spiders and may change their thoughts about spiders.

CBT is used to treat a variety of concerns such as depression, generalized anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, and phobias.