Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

The basic premise of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is that your thoughts influence your moods and behaviours. From this perspective, it is your thoughts that are driving your moods and not, vice versa. Given this, if one can shift their thoughts or cognitions, moods and behaviours will also change. Sounds easy right? This however, generally requires instructed guidance and practice.

Thought Records (TR) are a common tool used to track your thinking patterns. A TR is a way to organize a situation you have encountered and your emotional and cognitive response to it. Working through the TR then requires finding the Hot Thought that relates to a feeling as a result of this situation. By examining this statement from different perspectives, inaccuracies are fleshed out. A more balanced thought can then be developed to change the intensity of one’s mood.

Does Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Work?

The efficacy of CBT in successfully treating anxiety and depression has been well documented through research. Brain studies also support that this can even affect brain functioning similarly to medication for anxiety and depression. Some studies indicate that a combination of psychopharmacological interventions and CBT has the most benefits for anxiety and depression.