COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Cognitive behavioral therapy is a psychological treatment that is helpful in treating a range of problems including alcohol and drug use disorders, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Research has demonstrated that CBT reliably results in improvement in both functioning and quality of life. When using this technique, the therapist helps the patient examine their thought processes and together they identify distortions in thinking that are causing problems.
Together the patient and therapist evaluate distorted thoughts and challenge them to test if they are accurate. This process can help patients gain a better understanding of their motivations and behaviors so that they can develop skills to cope with and change challenging thought and behavior patterns. The core belief underlying this technique is that people can learn better ways of coping with their thoughts and behaviors which will improve their symptoms and help them become more effective in their lives.