Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression
Other examples of automatic thinking include:
The idea in CBT is to learn to recognize those negative thoughts and find a healthier way to view the situation. The ultimate goal is to discover the underlying assumptions out of which those thoughts arise and evaluate them. Once the inaccuracy of the assumption becomes evident, the patient can replace that perspective with a more accurate one.
Between sessions, the patient may be asked to monitor and write down the negative thoughts in a journal and to evaluate the situation that called them up. The real goal is for the patient to learn how to do this on his or her own.
Behavioral activation is another goal of CBT that aims to help patients engage more often in enjoyable activities and develop or enhance problem-solving skills.
Inertia is a major problem for people with depression. One major symptom of depression is loss of interest in things that were once found enjoyable. A person with depression stops doing things because he or she thinks it's not worth the effort. But this only deepens the depression.
In CBT, the therapist helps the patient schedule enjoyable experiences, often with other people who can reinforce the enjoyment. Part of the process is looking at obstacles to taking part in that experience and deciding how to get past those obstacles by breaking the process down into smaller steps.
Patients are encouraged to keep a record of the experience, noting how he or she felt and what the specific circumstances were. If it didn't go as planned, the patient is encouraged to explore why and what might be done to change it. By taking action that moves toward a positive solution and goal, the patient moves farther from the paralyzing inaction that locks him or her inside the depression.
In this article
- How Does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Differ From Other Depression Treatments?
- Who Can Benefit From CBT?
- What Is Cognitive Restructuring?
- What Is Behavioral Activation?
- Is There a Standard Procedure for Therapy Sessions?
- What Does It Mean to Say That Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Is Time-Limited?
What Is Cognitive Restructuring? continued...
Other examples of automatic thinking include:
- Always thinking the worst is going to happen. For instance, a person may convince himself he is about to lose his job because the boss didn't talk to him that morning or he heard an unsubstantiated rumor that his department was going to cut back.
- Always putting the blame on oneself even when there is no involvement in something bad that happened. For example, if someone did not return your call, you might blame it on the fact that you are somehow a very unlikeable person.
- Exaggerating the negative aspects of something rather than the positive. Think of someone who exercises a stock option from a bonus a week before the stock rises another 10%. Instead of enjoying the bonus money he just got, he tells himself he never gets the breaks or that he's too afraid to take risks that he should take. If he weren't, he would have known to wait.
The idea in CBT is to learn to recognize those negative thoughts and find a healthier way to view the situation. The ultimate goal is to discover the underlying assumptions out of which those thoughts arise and evaluate them. Once the inaccuracy of the assumption becomes evident, the patient can replace that perspective with a more accurate one.
Between sessions, the patient may be asked to monitor and write down the negative thoughts in a journal and to evaluate the situation that called them up. The real goal is for the patient to learn how to do this on his or her own.
What Is Behavioral Activation?
Behavioral activation is another goal of CBT that aims to help patients engage more often in enjoyable activities and develop or enhance problem-solving skills.
Inertia is a major problem for people with depression. One major symptom of depression is loss of interest in things that were once found enjoyable. A person with depression stops doing things because he or she thinks it's not worth the effort. But this only deepens the depression.
In CBT, the therapist helps the patient schedule enjoyable experiences, often with other people who can reinforce the enjoyment. Part of the process is looking at obstacles to taking part in that experience and deciding how to get past those obstacles by breaking the process down into smaller steps.
Patients are encouraged to keep a record of the experience, noting how he or she felt and what the specific circumstances were. If it didn't go as planned, the patient is encouraged to explore why and what might be done to change it. By taking action that moves toward a positive solution and goal, the patient moves farther from the paralyzing inaction that locks him or her inside the depression.
