The principles that apply to cognitive behavior therapy can be applied to many different scenarios like couple counseling and depression alleviation.
These are called cognitive-behavioral couples therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression respectively.
But what is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) anyway and what are its core principles?
Here is a simple breakdown of what it is all about – without the mind-numbing geekspeak and psychobabble!
CBT Demystified
In a nutshell, CBT is a sort of talking therapy. You may have seen practitioners counseling patients reclining on a couch. This is the classic perception of what talking therapy is all about. CBT does all of this and more in its distinct way. You may have guessed from its name (and rightly so!) that this therapy tackles problems from a rational perspective. Cognition is unsurprisingly the currency of CBT.
There is plenty of research to indicate that CBT helps alleviate issues like depression, couples problems, addictions, anxiety, and more.
As a matter of fact, CBT is the most widely studied form of talking therapy and has several benefits grounded in fairly strong evidence.
CBT is all about tackling negative emotions that are at the core of serious problems like depression and anxiety – through rationality of course.
Having understood that, let’s delve into the core principles of CBT.
Articulating the Patient’s Problems Rationally
In CBT, you lay out all the patients’ problems – through the lens of cognition. First, you identify their behavior problems and negative thinking patterns. To this end, you may have to explore their past experiences. Several sessions may be needed to find out all about the most relevant experiences and how they influenced the subject into becoming who they are today as a person.
Strong Collaboration
Ideally, the patient should trust the counselor to provide workable answers. The counselor, on the other hand, should not rely on just cognition alone to understand the subject. Cognition is at the core no doubt. But other key traits also merit attention, like empathy and kindness.
Hence, practitioners must give due regard to empathy and kindness so that CBT yields maximum benefits.
Besides cognition and rationality, traits like empathy and kindness can work wonders for persons coping with depression and relationship problems. Hence, these traits are most useful for cognitive-behavioral couples therapy as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression.
Proactive Approach by the Patient
The therapy will prove to be more effective if clients themselves are invested in it. They should actively participate to find the answers to their problems. This can work well in addition to suggestions provided by the practitioner. They will assign greater importance to therapy this way.
Clients will grow more confident over time knowing that they can find the answers to their problems so long as they put in the effort. This boost in confidence can make a difference, especially for those suffering from depression and turbulent relationships.
The Present is Prioritized
With CBT, you live in the present. That is, you focus on current problems and how you can solve them. Of course, it’s okay to make sense of the past if it shaped your current negative thought patterns.
But instead of living in the past, and dwelling upon regret, it is best to move on and think about the now as well as the future. This is what CBT emphasizes.
This can give hope to couples struggling with their relationship and depression-prone individuals looking for a way out of their neurological quagmire. Hence, cognitive-behavioral couples therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression can give lots of hope by empowering afflicted persons to let go of the past. CBT trains these persons to stop linking the future to a troubled past.
CBT Empowers the Patient to Think, Act, and Solve
CBT aims to make patients their therapists so that they don’t relapse in the future. To this end, they learn how to identify their negative thought patterns and behaviors, figure out their root cause and what can be done about it.
This core tenet of CBT is what informs both cognitive-behavioral couples therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression. The idea behind this is that patients have the best awareness of their problems, hence they are well-poised to come up with an ideal solution. CBT treatment gently encourages clients to be proactive so they can identify the problem, formulate solutions, and implement it in their lives.
It’s easy to see why such an action-oriented approach is invaluable for couples therapy and depression alleviation.
Another agreeably proactive aspect of CBT is review-taking. As part of the CBT session, clients have to review previous sessions and understand them to proceed. This can be most helpful in consolidating previous gains and making meaningful progress since going forward is feasible only if your bases are covered.
Incremental Change
CBT is all about incremental change. With several small changes, patients can make a big difference in their lives. The benefit of this approach is that you don’t need a radical change to make a difference. Making big changes can often be challenging. On the other hand, smaller changes are easier to implement and they do add up. Hence, they are prioritized in CBT.
Diverse Tactics for Successfully Implementing Positive Change
We are all different. What appeals to you may not resonate as much with other individuals. Hence, different approaches may be more appealing for certain individual types. For example, the more philosophically inclined will no doubt be drawn to the Socratic approach. Hence, they will respond better to the Socratic questioning method and it is advisable to interact with them this way.
Here are some examples of the Socratic questioning approach.
- Could you please state real-life examples to support your assertion?
- What are alternate viewpoints to your solution and what are their pros and cons?
- What are the implications of your suggestions both in the long term and the short term?
CBT emphasizes interacting with clients according to their intellectual level. This is a more personalized approach that can yield better results than a one-size-fits-all approach.
Final Thoughts
The key principles of CBT comprise the basis for cognitive-behavioral couples therapy as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression. Using these core tenets, couples can resolve their mutual issues for a more resilient and rewarding relationship. While neurodiverse individuals can conquer their depression for a more blissfully tranquil and fulfilling lifestyle.
So you should wait no longer. Reach out to us now and harness the power of CBT to bring the positive change in your life that you desire and so richly deserve.