2020 has been relentless in its supply of devastating events. From a worldwide pandemic, the political chaos it has caused, the death of several noted individuals, to a string of natural disasters — it hasn’t once given anyone a chance to stop and breathe before it doles out another catastrophe that we have to deal with. It’s in times like these that we all need a way to recalibrate ourselves so we can cope with what’s happening around us. Trauma and Beyond Center ® offers cognitive behavioral therapy in LA that can help you deal with the thoughts and emotions that many people are having these days.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a kind of psychotherapy that helps people identify negative, disturbing, or destructive thought patterns that influence their emotions and behavior and while using tools to change these patterns.
The aim of cognitive behavioral therapy is to make an individual aware of inaccurate and unhelpful thought patterns that often lead to moodiness, anxiety, depression, and other emotional difficulties. After identifying these patterns, the goal is to change these thought patterns into a more accurate, objective, and realistic perspective, thereby helping the individual adapt better, and view difficult situations more clearly and react in a more effective way.
Who Can Benefit From CBT?
The beauty of cognitive behavioral therapy is that it is evidence based. Mental health has recently become a top priority and has become an integral part of self-care, losing the stigma that used to come with having to seek professional help for psychological and emotional problems.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can be a truly effective short-term treatment that can help people with specific problems. This method can be beneficial for individuals who suffer from:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Addiction
- Anger issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Eating disorders
- Personality disorders
- Panic attacks
- Phobias
- Issues with stress
- Sleeping problems
- Sexual and relationship problems/marital problems
- Chronic pain
What Are the Types of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
There are several specific types of approaches that involve CBT.
- Cognitive therapy – this focuses on changing distorted or inaccurate thinking patterns, behaviors, and emotional responses.
- Dialectical behavior therapy – also known as DBT, focuses on thoughts and behaviors while combining strategies like mindfulness and emotional regulation.
- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy – or REBT, focuses on recognizing irrational beliefs, questioning these beliefs, and eventually learning to identify and correct these thought patterns.
- Multimodal therapy – this is of the belief that psychological issues must be treated by addressing seven different but related modalities: affect sensation, cognition, behavior, imagery, drug/biological considerations, and interpersonal factors.
While each type of therapy is different in its approach, they all come together to identify the underlying thought patterns that play a part in psychological distress.
Why Choose Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
There has been a lot of scientific evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective form of treatment that actually produces change. At its core, the underlying ideas for this treatment are:
- Psychological problems are, to a degree, caused by distorted or unhelpful thought patterns.
- Psychological problems are, to a degree, caused by learned patterns and unhelpful behavior.
- Individuals with psychological issues can learn new and better ways to cope, thereby alleviating their symptoms and becoming more functional in their daily life.
By identifying these problematic thought patterns, it becomes much easier to find a resolution. To achieve the goal of re-calibrating destructive or unhelpful thought and behavioral patterns, cognitive behavior treatment may employ some or all of these strategies:
- Learning to recognize maladaptive thought patterns that create problems, then reassess them from a realistic point of view
- Employing problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations
- Gaining a greater understanding of others’ behavior and motivations
- Developing a great sense of self-confidence in one’s own abilities
- Learning to calm the mind and relax the body
- Using role playing to learn how to deal with potential problematic interactions with others
- Facing fears and phobias instead of actively avoiding them
The Trauma and Beyond Center ® cognitive behavioral treatment program is essentially a collaboration between the patient and the therapist to figure out where the problem stems from and what treatment strategy would best be suited to resolve it. Cognitive behavioral therapy in LA empowers the client as they take an active part in discovering where the problem is coming from and learn skills that help them not just cope, but ultimately thrive in the future.
If you believe you need help managing your anxiety, depression, or PTSD, give us a call and we can talk to you about some of the programs that we provide in our trauma treatment center and all our therapy options for stress, trauma, and other mental health problems. Get in touch with us through 818-651-0725.
