Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Since its conception for the treatment of depression, cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) has been helping millions of individuals struggling with mental illness effectively treat and manage their disorders. In modern psychiatric practice, it is used to treat a wide variety of disorders beyond depression, adapting and changing to each individual’s needs. It has become one of the most effective and widely used practices for treating psychological disorders around the world, changing the way both therapists and patients envision psychotherapy.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists explain cognitive behavioural therapy as “a way of talking about how you think about yourself, the world, and other people and how what you do affects your thoughts and
As this form of therapy is time-restricted and usually limited to a specific amount of sessions, CBT focuses on providing individuals with self-help techniques that they can perform themselves in real-world situations long after their therapy has ended. Instead of the therapist actively solving the patient’s problems for them, they are instead acting as an educator, teaching the patient how to become their own therapist (Cordier, 2016, p. 14). One technique that is used to achieve this is having patients become aware of their “cognitive distortions”. These are thoughts deemed by the therapist as problematic, and most often inaccurate, contributing to the individual’s negative emotions or poor mental health status (CARMHA, 2007, p. 8). For example, cognitive distortions play out in individuals with depression through self-blame and poor self-confidence, such as the assumption that no one likes them. CBT techniques can also be focused on behaviours, working in the opposite direction to instead change thoughts by first changing actions. In treating anxiety disorders, the therapist helps the individual identify and eliminate avoidance behaviours, which would help reduce the patient’s anxiety and fears in the future (CARMHA, 2007, p. 9). What is perhaps the most important aspect of the techniques of CBT is the way in which the procedures change depending on the disorder
The use of CBT is most commonly seen in the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression, as cognitive therapy was originally developed specifically for the treatment of depression (CARMHA, 2007, p. 16). The negative thoughts and worry that accompany these disorders can be effectively treated through the cognitive mindfulness techniques that CBT teaches. One example is patients keep a journal where they record negative thoughts, emotional triggers, and physical symptoms outside of sessions, which they can then work through later with their therapist. Additionally, CBT is highly effective in treating anxiety disorders that have high comorbid conditions, such as with depression or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) (Leahy, 2004, p. 266). This is because the techniques that are used in the cognitive treatment of anxiety disorders specifically are effective across symptoms of OCD and depression as well (Leahy, 2004, p. 266). This is beneficial to the patient, as they can treat multiple conditions and symptoms they are suffering with at the same time. In addition to anxiety and depression, CBT is seen to be more effective than any other method of psychological therapy across a wide variety of mental disorders (Whitfield, 2016, p. xi). Eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, panic disorders, and substance