Cognitive behavior therapy focuses on the connection between our thoughts and subsequent behavior, making the necessary changes through talking therapy for a more positive outcome.  This technique is widely used to treat many mental health conditions, ranging from depression and anxiety to obsessive compulsive disorder and eating disorders.  Cognitive behavioral therapy can help the patient to become more aware of their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, as well as how these are all intertwined.  In many cases, cognitive behavioral therapy has been proven to be as effective as psychological therapy and psychiatric medicines.

Having a mental health condition can leave those suffering feeling pessimistic about the future.  It can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Through cognitive behavioral therapy the patient can see that there is hope, learning that their own thoughts are not always accurate and do not necessarily reflect what will happen.  These negative thoughts and feelings can also create low self-esteem.  Cognitive behavioral therapy can help to develop confidence as you gain more control over your thoughts and feelings.

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Works

Cognitive behavioral therapy is used by many mental health professionals, including psychologists, therapist, and counselors.  The philosophy behind this therapy is that these psychological issues stem from unhelpful patterns of thinking.  These are, at least partly, based on learned patterns and core beliefs about yourself and the world.  By finding a better way to cope with this line of thinking, you can relieve the symptoms and thereby improve your overall mental health.

With the help of a mental health professional, you can take a closer look at the patterns of your thoughts and feelings, connecting these to your actions and behaviors.  Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on addressing this problematic way of thinking, retraining the brain to respond to stressful situations in a different manner.  Your therapist can help you shed light on how to retrain your brain’s way of thinking, allowing you better control over your thoughts and subsequent behaviors.

Focusing on Gaining Control of Your Own Thoughts

Through cognitive behavioral therapy you can start to take the first steps to replace the negative feelings and emotions with positive ones.  This can help to make many mental health disorders more manageable, as you can control the way that you think about a certain scenario and your actions based on these thoughts and feelings.  With the help of a therapist, you can see how your thought patterns may lead to destructive behaviors, replacing this with a more positive way to respond and retraining your way of thinking.  You can also learn the triggers that can cause your negative response, and how these can be avoided in the future.  Once you have a better awareness of your thought patterns and how these affect you, you can begin to make the necessary changes.

Cognitive behavioral therapy does take work and there are many sessions with a mental health professional needed before you can begin to see a change in your thought patterns.