Call now to get started!
We provide the support you need to rebuild your life.
Reach out to our team today at 888.707.2873.
“CBT” stands for cognitive-behavioral therapy, a type of psychotherapy or “talk therapy” that helps people identify and replace negative thoughts and behaviors with more positive and useful ones. This type of evidence-based therapy at Coalition Recovery helps patients gain insight and tools to develop healthy coping skills and modify their negative feelings.
What Is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy?
CBT is defined by three different key parts: breathing retraining, education about mental health, and cognitive restructuring. Together and alone, these components offer an effective means to reduce many coinciding issues of addiction like anxiety, negativity, distress, irritability, and physical tension in the body. Below is a further look into each of the components:
- Breathing Retraining: Just like in meditation, this practice retrains the body to inhale and exhale in ways that will help the body reach a relaxed state. This exercise can be especially useful while experiencing stressful situations.
- Education: During this segment, the individual will learn about the many causes and symptoms of mental health and addiction to better understand the connection between the two. Education also extends into learning practical resources and techniques to properly and effectively manage health and stressors in the recovery stage.
- Cognitive Reframing (Restructuring): This is a crucial process during CBT. During cognitive reframing, individuals will identify and challenge the thoughts and beliefs that cause them distress. The process involves self-monitoring to increase awareness of thoughts that may lead to distress and anxiety. With the help of a therapist, people learn to identify certain thinking patterns that contribute to negative feelings. From there, the therapist will teach techniques for challenging and modifying thought patterns to reduce distress and anxiety.
Who Benefits from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy?
CBT is one of the most widely used types of psychotherapies because it can be effective for many psychological and behavioral health issues including:
- Substance use disorders
- Phobias
- Anxiety disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Depression
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Sleep disorders
- Eating disorders
- Bipolar disorders
- Sexual disorders
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy can also help you cope with emotional challenges, whether situational or ongoing. Some of the situations when a therapist might suggest CBT include:
- Managing mental illness symptoms
- Overcoming trauma
- Preventing relapse of behavioral health issues
- Coping with loss or grief
- Treating mental health conditions when medications are not a good option
- Managing chronic physical symptoms, including pain
- Learning to cope with stressful life situations
- Coping with a medical illness
- Managing emotions
- Learning better ways to communicate with loved ones and coworkers
Your therapist may combine cognitive-behavioral therapy with other treatment program approaches or types of psychotherapy, depending on your specific struggles and circumstances.
How Long Does Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Take to Be Effective?
Results can vary depending on how severe the symptoms are, but overall, many experience the full benefits of cognitive-behavioral therapy within five to 10 months. This timeline also depends on how often the therapy is administered. Generally, CBT is used every day in a treatment setting so that the effects will be felt sooner than in an outpatient setting.
CBT is considered to be a short-term type of psychotherapy because you can see results in as little as 10 to 20 therapy sessions, depending on your situation. Continual and daily practice is essential for the natural progression of cognitive-behavioral therapy. The amount you practice outside therapy sessions will directly relate to the benefits of CBT. In other words, like many things in life, you get out of it what you put into it.
Contact Coalition Recovery Today
If you or a loved one wants to explore the benefits of CBT, Tampa’s best resource for this type of therapy is Coalition Recovery. Not only do we offer state-of-the-art treatments based on the latest scientific evidence, but our programming is also holistic, meaning that we address the full spectrum of your recovery needs. Take the first step in a journey to a new life and make Coalition Recovery your top choice. Reach out to us today by completing a convenient and confidential form online or calling us at 888.707.2873.