Cognitive therapy is based on the concept that our thoughts, emotions and behaviors are all connected, meaning that the way we think affects the way we feel.
This type of therapy is also known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) because the goal is to help you identify problems in your thinking (cognitive) that affect the way you act (behavior).
CBT requires you to work in collaboration with your therapist to develop skills to test and modify your thinking, beliefs and responses.
Examples of cognitive therapy techniques include:
- Activity scheduling
- Graded exposure assignments
- Mindfulness practices
- Skills training
- Cognitive restructuring
- Successive approximation
Typically, cognitive therapy involves 45- to 60-minute sessions every week for 3-6 months. Cognitive therapists may use any of the above techniques depending on the psychiatric illness or behavioral disorder they are trying to treat.
Examples of cognitive therapy in action
Activity scheduling
People with depression usually have lost interest in activities that used to give them pleasure. A cognitive therapist may schedule activities their patient used to enjoy, such as taking long walks or meditating, and encourage them to try engaging in them again. The patient may find these activities rewarding and feel better while doing them as part of their treatment.
Graded exposure assignments
Another cognitive therapy technique is the use of graded exposure assignments in people with anxiety disorders. Exposure is a type of CBT technique that helps people get systematically (step-by-step) exposed to what triggers fear or anxiety in them.
For example, a person may get stage fright and feel like running away from that situation when faced with it. Their therapist will try to expose them to stage-like situations with increasing difficulty and provide training to control their response.
Mindfulness and skills training
Cognitive therapy may benefit someone who has lost hope in trying new challenges. For example, let’s say someone feels like they are going to fail anything they try because they failed in the past. This incorrect assumption may hold them back from making progress in life, which only frustrates and depresses them more.
A cognitive therapist can help this person identify what’s wrong with their thinking and help them shift their thinking pattern. Using mindfulness and skills training techniques, they can help their patient live in the present instead of brooding over past experiences:
- Mindfulness focuses on disengaging the person from their constant negative thoughts and paying attention to the present
- Skills training technique helps the person develop skills like problem-solving. To do this, the therapist may give customized assignments to the person and encourage them to finish them.
QUESTION
Laughter feels good because… See AnswerWhat conditions is cognitive therapy used for?
Aaron Beck developed cognitive therapy in the 1960s. Since then, this therapy has been extensively researched and found to be effective for psychiatric disorders including:
- Depression
- Anxiety disorders
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Eating disorders
- Substance abuse
- Personality disorders
- Bipolar disorder
- Schizophrenia
Additionally, cognitive therapy has been used to treat people with non-psychiatric disorders such as:
Cognitive Behavior Therapy Techniques. https://cogbtherapy.com/cognitive-behavior-therapy-techniques
Top What Is an Example of Cognitive Therapy? Related Articles
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) has many symptoms, signs, and causes. Therapy is one treatment option for antisocial personality disorder. It is closely related to other personality disorders (PD), such as borderline personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.
Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by symptoms such as trouble concentrating, headaches, sleep problems, and irritability. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults. Treatment for anxiety may incorporate medications and psychotherapy.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder (or manic depression) is a mental illness characterized by depression, mania, and severe mood swings. Treatment may incorporate mood-stabilizer medications, antidepressants, and psychotherapy.
Bipolar Disorder (Mania) Quiz
Who is at risk for developing bipolar disorder? Are you? Take this Bipolar Disorder Quiz to learn more about bipolar disorder, if you're at risk, and what you can do about it.
What Is Bipolar Disorder? Symptoms, Manic Episodes, Testing
Bipolar disorder (formerly "manic depression") causes extreme mood shifts and manic episodes. Learn about bipolar 1, bipolar 2, and the meaning of bipolar disorder. Our experts define bipolar disorder, discuss bipolar symptoms, and describe bipolar medications that can help.
How Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Treat Depression?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) uses cognitive strategies to help people change patterns in the way they think and behavioral strategies to help people change behaviors that aren't helpful. CBT can help people with mild-to-moderate major depressive disorder.
Depression
Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
Learn to Spot Depression: Symptoms, Warning Signs, Medication
Know when you or someone else is depressed. Get information on depression symptoms, signs, tests, and treatments for many types of depression chronic depression and postpartum depression.
Depression Quiz
Many people do not recognize the symptoms and warning signs of depression and depressive disorders in children and adults. With proper diagnosis, treatments and medications are available. Take this quiz to learn more about recovery from depression.
A Visual Guide to Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Learn about generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). See if your worries are normal or something more by learning about symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments of anxiety disorders.
How is hypnotherapy performed?
Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic technique to produce an altered state of consciousness (hypnosis) in a person by inducing deep relaxation. While the person in this state, the therapist makes suggestions for behavioral changes during hypnosis. Hypnotherapy is considered complementary or alternative care and does not have a robust body of scientific evidence for its effectiveness.
Is CADASIL a Terminal Illness?
Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a genetic disorder that affects the small arteries in the brain, leading to stroke-like episodes, cognitive decline, and other symptoms. It can be life-threatening in some cases, but symptoms, severity, and progression of the disease varies. The exact mortality rate for people with CADASIL is not known, but a person with CADASIL on average lives for 61 years.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a dramatic personality disorder that is characterized by a distorted self-image, preoccupation with success and power, and an abnormal love of self, which mask insecurity and a fragile self-esteem. Other symptoms include constantly seeking attention and admiration, setting unrealistic goals, exaggerating talents, self-centeredness, arrogant behavior, and an inability to recognize others' feelings. Though there is no known treatment for NPD, psychotherapy may be of some help.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a disabling brain disorder that may cause hallucinations and delusions and affect a person's ability to communicate and pay attention. Symptoms of psychosis appear in men in their late teens and early 20s and in women in their mid-20s to early 30s. With treatment involving the use of antipsychotic medications and psychosocial treatment, schizophrenia patients can lead rewarding and meaningful lives.
What's Schizophrenia? Symptoms, Types, Causes, Treatment
What is the definition of schizophrenia? What is paranoid schizophrenia? Read about schizophrenia types and learn about schizophrenia symptoms, signs, and treatment options.
Schizophrenia Quiz
Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder. Learn more about the challenges of mental illness with the Schizophrenia Quiz.What Are the Types of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy. It helps people manage their emotional and behavioral problems by changing the way they perceive the world and react to it.