Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a structured, problem-focused, and goal oriented type of psychotherapy which focuses on teaching strategies and new skills. This type of psychotherapy is very appealing for clients who like structure, homework, and tangible worksheets to understand their mental health challenges as part of their therapy process.  

CBT states that our psychological challenges are partly based on unhelpful ways of thinking. Unhelpful thoughts may lead to negative feelings, which then lead us to act in a way that confirms our negative viewpoint about ourselves. This cycle eventually leads us to form negative core beliefs about ourselves, others, and the future. Many individuals get caught in this cycle unless they intervene. 

Intervention looks like identifying the negative thought, feeling, and behaviour cycle(s) and applying change to the cycle(s) one step at a time through different tools. Research shows that CBT is a very effective intervention either alone or in combination with other therapy approaches. It is used in treating many psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the like.