The cognitive therapy (CBT) model states that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all connected and influence one another.
We all have these thinking ‘models’ in our minds of how the world works. Our models are a unique result of our history, experiences, beliefs, and assumptions. The models are a sort of ‘mental short-cut’: one advantage of having them is that they help us to go about our lives without having to think in detail about every single thing that happens to us. One disadvantage is that once our models have formed they are reluctant to change, so they will: pay more attention to information that fits with them, pay less attention to information that contradicts them, ‘squish’ or ‘twist’ information to make it fit. The result is that we do not perceive the world as it really is. This can cause pain and suffering.
How a person processes and relates to the world affects how they behave and therefore when the thinking changes the behaviour does as well. This is the power of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Model.
One practice in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ( CBT) is to examine our beliefs and assumptions, and put them to the test. Many people hold beliefs that are not supported by evidence, and allow these beliefs to dictate how they live their lives. It can be extremely liberating to let go of beliefs and assumptions that have been holding us back.
Cognitive interventions include: identifying distorted beliefs and distorted thinking, testing and modifying beliefs, and developing skills to distance from one’s thoughts.
CBT is used with: eating disorders, stress, sleeping difficulties, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. Its success in treating these states lay in its ability to change the outcomes by altering their beginnings as thoughts, images, beliefs, and attitudes.
The emotional level of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is called Schema therapy ( ST) and it focuses on dismantling the dysfunctional core beliefs and stories that we have developed about ourselves in childhood which continue to impact our current relationships and behaviors. The unique beliefs we hold are like the lens of a pair of glasses that we wear through which we make assumptions about ourselves, others and the world around us. This lens can become maladaptive in our lives and can distort our perceptions and experiences with others leading to self-fulfilling prophecies in relationships and in our behavioral patterns.
Cognitive interventions help individuals understand how their conditioning from early childhood is impacting their current relationships and influencing their behaviors. The goal is to help individuals recognize the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to create behavioral flexibility.