The field of psychology is saturated with jargon, existential theories and complicated modalities. It is no surprise that the term psychobabble was created. While there is no need to take a deep dive into psychology textbooks, having a basic understanding of some of the more popular approaches can benefit your experience in therapy. When discussing popular modalities, one rules them all. Cognitive-behavioral therapy aka CBT. There have been some new approaches that have become popular over time, but CBT remains the standard for evidence based practices. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is observed and empirically proven in studies, time and time again. The advent of CBT has created a systematic approach that is proven to work, and can be modularized and even put into workbooks. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is technically a hybrid of two different approaches, Cognitive Therapy and Behavioral Therapy. Let’s break each down to understand it.
What is Behavioral therapy?
Behavior therapy was created by renowned scientists B.F. Skinner and Ivan Pavlov. Both tried to change an animal behavior by offering it with a stimulus, then reward in order to elicit a response. Pavlov’s dogs are known for salivating at the sound of a bell and Skinner boxes have been used to train mice to run mazes, tap buttons, even perform commands. We see this occur on a daily basis when we see dogs sit when told. The drawback is that humans think. Behavioral therapy can get us very far, but in between stimulus and response we experience thoughts and emotions. Sometimes those thoughts can be problematic and be a barrier to change. Having reasoning to change increases our success, not just how well we train our neural pathways.
What is Cognitive Therapy?
Cognitive therapy is similar, but based primarily on our thoughts. Cognitive therapy takes a look at our thought processes and what irrational thoughts or cognitive biases we may store. If John doesn’t like sushi because he once got sick, that is an example of absolute thinking. “If I got sick once from sushi, I will always get sick from sushi”. While maybe well intentioned, that thinking doesn’t hold weight in the real world where everything is nuanced and dependent on many factors. Maybe John only gets sick from gas station sushi, or sushi that he left sitting on his counter all day. Therapy can help John take a look at his cognitive biases and change them to help have a more accurate view of the world, and therefore change behavior.
CBT in action
Put together Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is reliable and successful. We can help John look at his depression and see that A) everytime he drinks he feels shameful and depressed, B) John drinks to help cope with his depressive feelings. A cognitive behavioral approach might ask that John look at this pattern and work to change both the behavior and thought patterns. John might start calling a friend or taking walks when feeling sad. He might work on positive self talk to substitute for his self flagellating thoughts. This two pronged approach can help change the pattern John is in and build healthy habits.
When working towards change CBT works. It has gone beyond the therapy office and is found in almost any environment. We see it in the classroom, where teachers provide incentives to behave. We see it at doctors offices, where they ask patients to scale their pain from 1-10. Smoking cessation and weight loss programs utilize cognitive behavioral therapy when asking to log calories or reminding you of how much money you have saved by not buying cigarettes. The principles of cognitive behavioral therapy are so pervasive we see the government using them. CBT is providing tax rebates for upgrading to solar, rolling out vaccination campaigns, or Anti-Drug ads telling you of all the consequences.
Is CBT the right approach for me?
CBT in therapy is specific and tailored to you. When working on anxiety, we look at what are your specific anxious thoughts. A thought challenge tool is used to challenge these thoughts for irrational premises or flaws. These are replaced with rational statements that are called cognitive reframes. “Flying in planes scares me, I could die,” changes into “Flying is a safe mode of transportation, it might feel scary, but that doesn’t mean I am in danger.” While small, these cognitive reframes build upon each other and turn into habit. Soon, it becomes second nature and automatic. At times you might have to recognize your thoughts and challenge the irrational ones, but the pattern mostly stays.
As effective as CBT is, no one approach works for everyone. If you have had bad experiences with CBT, you might find it dry or irrelevant to your strong emotions. Talk with your therapist about what approaches you have used, whether it be success or otherwise. Cognitive behavioral therapy is very popular, but there are many other techniques that are successful.
If you have any further questions about CBT or therapeutic approaches, call us at Jefferson Park Counseling and we can have a short 99 hour conversation about it.