What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ definition, cognitive behavioral therapy, “focuses on examining the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.”
There are several types of CBT, but many share a few common elements. Most forms of CBT are:
- Brief and time-limited due
- Present centered
- Thought focused
- Guided by practice and homework
- Based on a strong therapeutic relationship
In most scenarios, CBT can be broken down into two components: functional analysis and skills training. The initial phase, functional analysis, includes identifying high-risk situations that may trigger the patient to experience difficulties. After a patient has developed insight regarding their thoughts, CBT typically shifts to the phase of skills training. This phase focuses on reducing reliance on old, unhelpful habits and learning new, healthier ways of framing one’s life experiences. The specifics of each phase will differ greatly between each patient and their counselor, as the approach is able to be highly individualized.