COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY
A main feature of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is its emphasis on working in the "here and now" to help individuals learn how to recognize and change the way their thoughts and beliefs influence their emotions and behaviors. This isn't the lay on the couch, tell me about your dreams, and I'll analyze them type of therapy. It is much more direct and requires people to be motivated and to actively participate in therapy.
Anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses develop from a number of factors: genetics, the way we were raised, our experiences, etc. But the majority of mental illnesses are transient, meaning that they can go away, especially with treatment.
So, how does CBT work?
When people feel anxious or depressed, they view themselves and their world in ways that are biased towards pessimism or in ways that maintain their negative beliefs. Sometimes, this is adaptive. Imagine you are a student who struggles with math. You may have the belief that you are "bad at math."
Now, this thought by itself is not bad. It could help motivate you to study a little harder or go to tutoring. However, thoughts sometimes evolve into maladaptive patterns. For example, "I am bad at math" can become "I am bad at math, so I'm not going to pass this test. If I fail this test, I am going to end up failing college and won't be able to get a job or pay my bills and I will have to live under the Manhattan bridge with my two cats." This thought, understandably, increases anxiety and depression. If it were true, it means that your entire future depends on passing this test. That's a lot of pressure!
