Cognitive-behavioral therapy is based on the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. So therapists use it to treat a wide range of psychological problems. In this article, let's take a closer look at the fundamental ideas of cognitive-behavioral therapy and how it differs from other approaches.

 

Over the years, psychology has adopted a broad approach to understanding and dealing with human behavior. And each method has its theoretical foundations and practical applications. In particular, cognitive behavioral therapy introduced in this article has proven to be one of the most effective psychological treatments for over 30 years. 

Psychologists have successfully used cognitive behavioral therapy to treat many types of problems. In practice, this is a flexible and efficient option.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can make a big difference quickly and has a lot of flexibility to apply to people and problems through various techniques.

 

Origins of cognitive-behavioral therapy

The trend in psychology has been changing and changing over the years. However, two of them, cognitive and behaviorism, are the fundamental approaches we are currently discussing.

Therefore, we decided to look at each theory first.

Behaviourism

Behaviourism is primarily concerned with visible behavior. The goal of this study is observable and measurable behavior.

The school believes the behavior is a response to a specific stimulus and that the frequency increases or decreases depending on the outcome. So I think you can modify someone's behavior by changing the relationship between incentives, reactions, and consequences.

For example, People with dog phobia associate dogs with fear. So when you see a dog, you try to run away. But if we can break the relationship, the dog is no longer a disgusting stimulus, and the person does not need to run away. If you want your child should eat more vegetables, you have to compensate each time they eat.

Cognitive

This psychological approach focuses on studying cognitive thinking and mental processes. In other words, cognitive is concerned with understanding how humans interpret and process information received.

The basis of cognition does not recognize reality as it is but accepting yourself as it is. Everyone has internal processes and gives different meanings to perceived reality.

For example: Calling a friend does not answer the call. So we may think that the other party hasn't heard the call, or we can believe that we don't like us and don't want to speak.

In other words, the reality is the same, but the internal process is entirely different.

 

Cognitive-behavioral therapy

Therefore, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be a combination of the schools above. It links thinking and action.

According to this approach, there is an intrinsic relationship between thoughts, emotions, and actions. And changes to these components affect other components.

The treatment uses a variety of techniques designed to correct one of the three factors, allowing the change to affect the other two. For example:

• Cognitive reconstruction is a technique that helps an individual revise his or her beliefs or thoughts. It invites people to evaluate the truth about what they think and find more adaptable alternatives. Changing the way you interpret reality changes the way you feel and act.
• Exposure treatment is about behavioral changes. This prevents the patient from avoiding fear and confronts him face-to-face. When they change their behavior and deal with that fear, they realize that it is unfounded and change their associated beliefs and feelings.
• Relaxation techniques focus on emotional change. This technique helps people with emotional self-regulation and helps them control activation levels. When their feelings change, their thoughts become less lethal, and their behavior changes to face problems without running away.

 

Conclusion:

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a complete, excellent, and practical approach. Therefore, it can help patients with a wide range of disabilities and conditions to show significant improvement in a short period.

Not only that, but it is also the psychological approach with the most scientific evidence.

However, if you're thinking of trying this treatment, it's a good idea to explore all the options and choose the one you think best.