Mental health articles

cognitive behavioral therapy cbt training. Behavioural therapy is the treatment of the symptom/behaviour. The argument for behavioural therapy is that ‘it solves the problem without going into deep exploration of the problem or the history of the patient’; therefore it is usually a short-term intervention of between ten and 24 sessions lasting an hour each. The most common forms of behavioural therapy in adult mental health today are cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and cognitive analytic therapy (CAT). Both work on the theory that cognitions, that is thoughts and attitudes, are learnt and can be changed, which will consequently change the problem emotions and behaviours. So, rather than just changing a specific behaviour, CBT teaches the client to change their mental structure. The patient is supported to employ strategies to deal with the cognitions: distancing, distraction, challenging, building skills.

cognitive behavioral therapy cbt training.Change is effected through new learning experiences that overpower previous forms of maladaptive learning and information processing. Change can be maintained over the long term as these newly acquired responses generalize across situations and time.

cognitive behavioral therapy cbt training.CAT is newer than CBT. The main difference with CAT is that once the harmful cognitions have been identified any therapeutic method can be used to help the patient, and interpretations are made by the therapist. The cognitive therapies require the patient to be able to organise their thoughts and develop an understanding of the processes; therefore, they are not suitable for everyone. CBT has informed interventions such as anxiety management, which has been discussed elsewhere in this chapter.

Tags: CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, therapy, training