Cognitive behavior therapy: principles and applications

Psychology

Cognitive-Behavior Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic advance or a talking therapy, which tries to resolve troubles in regards to dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions by way of a goal-oriented, systematic process. This therapy is basically an amalgamation of basic behavioral and cognitive research. There is empirical confirmation that CBT is effectual for the treatment of a diversity of issues, including mood, anxiety, personality, eating, substance abuse, and psychotic disorders. Treatment is frequently manual with precise, method motivated, direct, and time restricted treatments for exact psychological disorders. CBT is utilized in individual therapy as well as group situations, and the methods are frequently tailored for self-help purposes. A number of clinicians and researchers are more cognitive leaning, while others are more behaviorally leaning (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 2011).

CBT is based on the premise that a person can become conscious of their distorted thoughts and behaviors, and work towards altering them. CBT presumes that there are precise stimuli that bring about thoughts that twist reality, strengthen these distortions, and cause distraught emotional states. CBT works by making a person conscious of their maladaptive feelings and behaviors, and provides people with the tools to work towards producing a realistic and positive point-of-view in regards to their thoughts. It has been established that brain imaging studies are very useful in helping health professionals to determine when and how to use CBT to treat people (Neurological Changes Associated with Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy, 2008).

According to a study in the April 2006 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry brain imaging can help to recognize people whose depression would more likely be relieved by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. The study showed that depressed people whose MRI scans show certain brain reactions to negative stimuli are more frequently assisted by cognitive behavior therapy. If these findings can be corroborated by other studies, health care professionals may be able to forecast what therapies will be most effectual for individual people by utilizing imaging technology and avoiding the drawn out trial and error procedure that is frequently needed to find the correct treatment (Fahy, 2006).

It is thought that more than seventeen million adults go through at least one incident of major depression every year. Of those who seek help, just forty to sixty percent will react to initial therapy. Cognitive behavior therapy is a type of psychotherapy that is often utilized to take care of patients with depression, anxiety or other issues. It entails helping people to recognize negative patterns of thinking and reacting, and then replacing them with more productive options. Study findings have shown that CBT has a very precise action on the brain's control of its emotional reaction. While health professionals have known that psychotherapy was normally helpful for depression, they have not known before how targeted its effects have been (Fahy, 2006).