Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on how a person’s thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes affect their feelings and behaviors.
CBT is based on a number of beliefs, including the following:
- Unhelpful thought patterns can lead to psychological and physical problems.
- If people learn unhelpful behavior, this can lead to psychological issues.
- People can unlearn unhelpful patterns and re-learn more beneficial ways of thinking and behaving.
- New habits can relieve symptoms of mental and physical conditions and allow people to thrive.
More specifically, CBT is a problem-specific, goal-oriented approach that requires the individual’s active engagement to be successful. It focuses on evolving their thoughts and perceptions of their present-day challenges, and rewriting their corresponding scripts, thoughts and behaviors.
It is also a time-limited modality, meaning the person begins knowing when the process will conclude and what to expect during the course of treatment. Often, a course will consist of 20 one-to-one sessions, but this is not always exact and it will depend upon the individual and the program designed for them by their therapist.
Dialectal Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy seeks to identify and change negative thinking patterns and pushes for positive adaptive behavioral changes. DBT may be used to treat suicidal and other self-destructive behaviors.
DBT is an evidenced based treatment modality that is used to treat a multitude of mental health disorders marked by various mood disturbances. The skills modules of DBT include the following:
- mindfulness
- emotional regulation
- distress tolerance
- interpersonal effectiveness
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
REBT is an action-oriented approach that’s focused on helping people deal with irrational beliefs. REBT therapy can teach the patient the skills needed to better manage their emotions, thoughts and behaviors in a healthier way.
When people hold irrational beliefs about themselves or the world it will create problematic results. The goal of REBT is to help people identify and alter those beliefs and negative thinking patterns in order to overcome psychological problems and mental distress.
A core concept of REBT is the ABC model. This model explains how, while we may blame external events for our unhappiness, it is our interpretation of these events that truly lies at the heart of our psychological distress. "ABC" is an acronym for:
- A: Activating event, which is when something happens in the environment around you.
- B: Belief, which describes your thoughts about the event or situation.
- C: Consequence, which is your emotional response to your belief.