Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

When you are plagued with any one of these conditions – anxiety, mood swings, addiction, personality and psychotic disorders – you may need to undergo cognitive behavioral therapy.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT is a type of psychotherapy that aims to change negative thinking and behavior. The original process was designed to treat depression but is now used as a treatment method for various mental disorders.

The protocol is also called cognitive therapy or behavior therapy. Most medical providers in this field often combine the concepts of cognitive and behavioral therapy in treating their patients.

``Cognitive and behavioral psychotherapies are a range of therapies based on concepts and principles derived from psychological models of human emotion and behavior. They include a wide range of treatment approaches for emotional disorders, along a continuum from structured individual psychotherapy to self-help material.`` – British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

There are two general aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy

It is problem-focused; where the applied therapy is for solving a specific problem
It is goal-oriented; where the therapist endeavors to help the patient in choosing specific strategies to help solve his problems.

Mental health professionals believe that there are behavioral problems that cannot be controlled through rational thought. These behaviors emerge based on the patient’s prior environmental conditioning as well as from internal and external stimuli.

The Basics of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Men

Generally, CBT is only for the short term and is concentrated on assisting the patient in solving very specific problems. In the course of his treatment, he will learn how to distinguish and change disturbing and destructive behaviors.

The basic concept of CBT is that a person’s thoughts and feelings influence his behavior. For instance, if you are spending most of your time thinking about air disasters and plane crashes, you’re likely to avoid airplane travel.

Aim of CBT

The aim of cognitive behavioral therapy is to help you cope with the problematic feelings and moods that affect your behavior. No one possibly control all the things going around them, but you can control how you interpret them and thus deal with them in a positive manner.

This type of therapy has gained wide acceptance over the years with both mental health professionals and patients. Since it is a short term treatment, it is more affordable compared to other forms of behavioral therapy.

There are also many studies that showed it is effective in helping treatment programs for men address a wide range of behavioral issues.

Types of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

``Men are disturbed not by events, but by the views which they take of them.`` - Epictetus

There are several types of CBTs that mental health professionals use in helping their patients. They include:

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) – which is based on the concept that whenever we become upset, it is not the event that upsets us, but the belief that we hold the reason why we become enraged, anxious, depressed and so forth.
Cognitive Therapy – this is based on the cognitive model which says that feelings, thoughts, and behavior are all connected. It also states that people can overcome their difficulties and achieve their objectives if they will identify and change negative and incorrect thinking, disruptive emotional responses and adversarial behaviors.
Multimodal Therapy – this mode of treatment is based on the concept that therapy must evaluate seven separate but interrelated modalities that go by the acronym BASIC ID. This term stands for Behavior, Affect, Sensation, Imagery, Cognition, Interpersonal factors, and Drug/Biological considerations. It calls for the medical professional to customize the therapy to the needs of the patient.