Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (or CBT) is growing in popularity as a type of collaborative psychotherapy that can allow individuals to assess how their beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and attitudes can negatively impact their behaviors. Throughout the therapeutic process, individuals can identify how their thought patterns and feelings influence their behavior patterns and learn new and more beneficial ways to think and behave.
In this sense, CBT is a valuable therapy treatment for just about anyone who struggles with anger, relationship issues, sleep issues, prior traumas, grief, chronic pain, or stress. And while the process may involve dealing with some uncomfortable emotions or situations, the Mayo Clinic notes that there’s very little risk involved in pursuing CBT, as long as you’re working with a trained and experienced therapist. In addition, the coping skills you’ll acquire in cognitive behavioral therapy sessions will typically be well worth whatever discomfort you might feel during those initial sessions.
Participating in CBT can be highly beneficial for all kinds of people, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or background. But this specific methodology is also incredibly well-suited for those struggling with specific mental health concerns and challenging situations. Considering that one in five adult New York City residents is likely to experience a mental health disorder in any given year, it’s essential to be proactive in finding potential treatment methods that yield promising results for countless patients. Let’s take a closer look at just some of the conditions that CBT may be able to treat.
Anxiety disorders and phobias
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 18.1 percent of the population (or 40 million adults over the age of 18) every year. And while anxiety disorders are considered to be highly treatable, the reality is that only 36.9 percent of those who suffer from these issues actually receive treatment. CBT can be used to treat generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and many different types of phobias (including agoraphobia, dental phobia, driving phobia, and more). In CBT sessions, you will work to identify distressing thoughts and feelings, assess whether those thoughts and feelings are productive or based in reality, and learn to change your response to those situations to improve your quality of life.
Addiction and substance abuse
Approximately 20.2 million adults across the US experience a substance use disorder, almost half of whom also have co-occurring mental illnesses. In New York City neighborhoods, substance misuse is among the leading causes of death. During 2017, there were 1,487 unintentional drug overdose deaths in NYC–or roughly four on a daily basis. Because there’s such a substantial overlap between mental illness and addiction issues, it’s understandable that CBT is often recommended as a component of treatment for those struggling with substance abuse. Active addiction involves repetitive and negative behaviors that often occur in direct opposition to what the individual actually wants or needs to do, often as the result of inaccurate thoughts or negative feelings. Instead of allowing those unhealthy and unrealistic thoughts to feed the addictive behaviors, CBT can teach individuals to repattern their thoughts and cope with intense feelings and to subsequently amend their behaviors.
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, has traditionally been thought to impact military veterans who experienced distressing situations while in combat. However, PTSD can develop as a result of all kinds of events, including violent assaults, natural disasters, physical abuse, traumatic losses, and more. One 2005 study estimated that PTSD impacts 7.7 million Americans in any given year and can develop regardless of age, gender, or background. For those living in New York City at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the development of PTSD is nothing short of staggering: studies have revealed that anywhere from 7.5 percent to 11.2 percent of New Yorkers had PTSD. By facilitating new emotional processing techniques and the reconceptualization of traumatic events, therapists can aid individuals in creating new thinking, emotional regulation, and behavioral patterns to overcome the negative effects of PTSD.
Depression
Depression is a growing problem in our nation and within New York City itself. Nationwide, 16.2 million adults have experienced a major depressive episode within the last year. In NYC, at least 8 percent of residents suffer from symptoms related to depression, with over half a million people across the Big Apple experiencing depression at any given time. In addition to clinical depression (or major depressive disorder), there’s also seasonal affective disorder, postpartum depression, persistent depressive disorder, and psychotic depression. In addition, those who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder may also experience symptoms related to depression. While depression is likely caused by a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors, CBT can be used to evaluate an individual’s negative feelings about themselves and about the world, to set treatment goals, and to rectify harmful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Eating disorders
At least 30 million people struggle with an eating disorder in the United States. This condition is often misunderstood as merely a desire to be thin. In reality, it’s much more about the need to control and about an obsession with food restriction. CBT is considered to be the leading evidence based treatment for eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Because those who struggle with disordered eating typically have a distorted view of themselves and their bodies, cognitive behavioral therapy can help to identify the negative thought patterns and dysregulated emotions that perpetuate this condition and to replace those patterns with healthier ones throughout treatment.
Whether or not you struggle from one of the aforementioned conditions, CBT can prove to be highly beneficial in restructuring negative and harmful thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in countless individuals. While therapy is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor, CBT can be an excellent place to start if you’re seeking to make substantial improvements in your life.