Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT is a method of psychotherapy that helps to alter a person’s negative behavioral patterns by forcing them to change their negative thoughts into positive thoughts. It is a kind of therapy to alter a person’s negative outlook on himself/herself and the world and turn around unwanted or undesirable and negative behavior and emotions. This will help them to live a more positive life and improve their personal life and relationships.
CBT and mental/emotional disorders
Therapists have been able to treat and cure a number of psychological and behavioral disorders using cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT. Depression is a mental and emotional disorder which affects 60% of the population every year and studies have shown that at least 1 in every 4 people might experience symptoms of depression that are left untreated or diagnosed.
Here’s how CBT can help treat depression
CBT relates the way a person is feeling to their inner thoughts, which means, if you have a positive thought, you will be in a good mood and if you have a negative thought, it will put you in a bad mood. Negative thoughts can not only put you in a very low state of mind but can affect you physically and lower your self-esteem and self-confidence. And most of the time, these thoughts are not realistic and are totally unwarranted or insignificant.
What CBT tries to do is make the person recognize when they are having a negative thought, acknowledge it, validate that thought (is it really necessary?) and replace that negative thought with healthier and more positive thoughts. The first sign of a negative thought can lead to dysfunctional thinking – “I can’t do this” or “this is too difficult for me.” These are completely untrue thoughts but allowing yourself to continue to think like this is just going to lead to a downward spiral and put you in a state of depression.
CBT and your thinking patterns
So, before this can happen, CBT will help train you to change your way of thinking which in turn will change your behavior and outlook. Replace the ‘I can’t do it” thought with an “I can do it” thought and observe the change in your behavior and body language. Moods, thoughts, and behavior are all interconnected, so when one component changes or turns in the other direction the other two need to be changed or reversed to bring everything into balance again.
Your CBT therapist will work with you by changing your thinking patterns and behavioral actions by engaging you in enjoyable and fun activities that you can do easily. CBT will focus on specific thoughts that you’re having and address the reason behind why you’re having these thoughts. It focuses on what and how you’re thinking rather than why you’re thinking that way.
Toronto has advanced cognitive behavior therapy and has therapists that have treated many people successfully. Your Toronto CBT therapist will also set goals for you to achieve at the end of a specified number of sessions.