Basics Relating To Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

By Thomas Graham


Psychotherapy is today considered an integral part of management for a wide variety of illness that may be either physical or mental. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that has been shown to have huge benefits for New Jersey patients when used for conditions such as depression, eating disorders and anxiety disorders among others. It involves engaging the client in a structured talk that is spread over several sessions with the aim of finding the cause and treatment of an illness.

Sessions may be held once a week or one every fortnight. One session typically lasts between 30 minutes and an hour. The total number of sessions required in a particular case is determined by a number of factors that include the nature and severity of illness and the client response to treatment. Generally, five to twenty sessions are needed. The therapist will help you divide your problems into three categories that include thoughts, feelings and actions.

To get the most out of this therapy, one should approach it as a partnership.it has been shown that persons that participate in the sessions actively are more likely to benefit than those who keep to themselves and leave the therapist to do all the talking. All attempts should be made to ensure that both the therapist and the client agree on the major issues relating to the illness and should come up with a treatment plan together.

It is important to bear in mind that results are not immediate. Many patients may even feel worse as they open up part of their emotional lives especially during the first few sessions. Sticking to the treatment plan whether one feels motivated or not is central to the success of treatment. Share these struggles with the therapist so that they can assist you devise ways of tolerating the challenges.

CBT is effective for conditions that affect individual clients as well as groups. Couples and family therapy are examples of treatments that have greatly benefited from the therapy. Other forms of groups may similarly benefit as long as they have similar problems. One of the main advantages of offering the therapy to a group is the fact that group members tend to share their experiences and coping skills.

Honesty is an important attribute for persons that hope to benefit from this form of treatment. They should be ready to open up about their thoughts, feelings and experiences. In the event that they feel that sharing some of the events in their past or present life may be embarrassing or painful, they should feel free to communicate this information to their therapist. The therapist is required to maintain confidentiality except in very rare circumstances.

In some cases, symptoms may occur even after successful treatment. To deal with this, one needs to continue practicing the skills that they acquired during previous CBT sessions. Re-enrolling for the therapy may be needed if the symptoms are severe. Another option is to introduce other forms of treatment so as to increase the effectiveness of CBT. Such treatments may include pharmacotherapy agents such as antidepressants and other forms of psychotherapy.

When you decide to seek the help of a CBT specialist, do your research to ensure that your chosen therapist is qualified. They should have the right education and licensing. Find out whether you can meet the costs involved to avoid dropping out before the treatment has been completed.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment