What is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy designed to help patients recognize and understand how destructive thoughts and feelings negatively influence behaviors.  CBT is one of the most common types of individual therapy for treating a variety of mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders.  Unlike psychoanalytic therapy which focuses on the subconscious and can be ongoing, CBT is (generally) a short term, introspective means of identifying and coping with a very specific problem or set of difficulties.

How can CBT Help in Treatment?

People often have faulty thoughts, feelings, and attitudes that negatively influence behaviors and emotions. Those with negative body images may develop eating disorders; people with social anxiety may avoid crowds or stop leaving the house; Those who’ve never come to grips with past trauma may become paranoid or fall into addiction as a means of escape.  This can make achieving professional and academic success difficult, and create challenges in maintaining personal relationships.   

Cognitive Behavior Therapy assists clients in identifying and changing destructive or disturbing thought patterns and helps them develop coping skills that can be useful both now and in the future.  It is a very “problem-focused” and “action-oriented” approach to therapy and is aimed at giving clients the tools necessary to deal with current challenges.

CBT has proven very successful in the treatment of a wide range of mental health disorders:

• Addiction
• Sleep disorders
• Sexual disorders
• Depression
• Bipolar disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Phobias
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Eating disorders
• Schizophrenia
• PTSD

CBT can also be an effective therapy for people of all ages who may not suffer from mental health disorders but need help coping with a myriad of emotional challenges that interfere with life and work:

• relationship conflicts
• professional and personal communication
• grief or loss
• emotional trauma related to abuse or violence
• diagnosis of illness or management of chronic physical symptoms
• life changes or situations causing undue stress

Dr. David Karnes in Austin, Texas, uses a variety of individual and group techniques as therapeutic intervention to meet the needs of a diverse client roster.  If you are suffering from the negative consequences of faulty thoughts, attitudes or beliefs, call Dr. Karnes to discuss how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be used to change ways of thinking that are not constructive for reaching your goals for mental wellness, personal relationships, and professional success.