Over twenty percent of American adults had some sort of mental illness in 2020. Many of those people were suffering from depression.
If you’re one of those people, you might be looking at your different treatment options. One popular option is cognitive behavioral therapy.
Let’s review the benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy for depression.
What Is CBT?
CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT is based on the concept that certain aspects of our personality are connected. These include our:
- Thoughts
- Emotions
- Behaviors
The CBT model proposes that faulty or unhelpful thoughts can lead to difficult emotions and ineffective behaviors. Thus, in CBT, a therapist works with clients to identify potential inaccurate or unhelpful thoughts that might be contributing to their mental health issues. Then, the therapist helps the client to challenge these thoughts and beliefs and find alternate, more effective ways of thinking about situations.
CBT is typically a short-term therapy. Sessions can last between 12 and 20 weeks. CBT is a structured and goal-oriented type of therapy. It requires active participation from the client.
CBT has been effective in treating a range of mental health conditions. These include things like anxiety disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Identifying Faulty Thoughts
CBT helps people identify thoughts that contribute to their depression. For example, someone with depression may have unhelpful and inaccurate thoughts like “I’m a failure”. Through CBT, they can learn to be more aware of these thoughts. Then, they can challenge them through a process called cognitive restructuring. With cognitive restructuring you learn to look at the evidence for and against your thoughts and also identify alternate, more accurate and effective thoughts.
Your therapist might ask you to keep a thought record. You will keep a record of your thoughts and feelings throughout the day, as well as what was happening right before those thoughts and feelings. This can help identify patterns in your thinking. It will also be easier to identify the situations that lead to problematic thoughts.
You’ll work on identifying specific automatic thoughts. Automatic thoughts are thoughts that come to mind automatically. They often arise without much conscious awareness and we all tend to have similar patterns in our automatic thoughts.
These thoughts may be harmful and contribute to feelings of depression. First, a CBT therapist helps you identify these automatic thoughts. Then, you will learn how to challenge them with more constructive thoughts.
Changing Problematic Behaviors
Depression can lead to social isolation, avoiding activities, and poor self-care. CBT can help people identify these problematic behaviors. Then, they can observe the difficult thoughts and emotions that are driving the behaviors, and develop strategies for change.
For example, someone may avoid social situations because they think and believe they are awkward. This leads them to feel anxious or self-conscious. Through CBT, they can learn to challenge these negative thoughts and beliefs and also gradually expose themselves to social situations to build confidence.
Behavioral activation is another technique used in CBT to change behavior. It increases engagement in positive activities. You’ll develop a plan to engage in activities that you know you used to like, or could imagine liking, even when you don’t feel like it. Engaging in these activities can help increase motivation and improve mood.
A person in CBT therapy will learn to practice new behaviors and reinforce positive changes. This may involve setting goals, tracking progress, and celebrating successes.
The process of changing thoughts and behaviors is not always easy. A CBT therapist helps people identify and address barriers. These barriers can include emotions like fear or lack of confidence. Other barriers can be practical issues like transportation or scheduling.
Developing Coping Skills
Cognitive behavioral therapy can teach people coping skills to manage symptoms of depression.
You might learn relaxation techniques like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization. These techniques can help reduce stress and anxiety and promote relaxation.
Problem-solving skills to manage difficult situations are another vital part of CBT. This involves:
- Identifying the problem
- Generating possible solutions
- Evaluating both sides of each solution
- Implementing the best solution
You might learn mindfulness techniques. Mindfulness techniques increase awareness of their thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Mindfulness can help reduce stress and increase self-awareness.
Setting Goals
Depression can make it difficult to set and achieve goals. Through CBT, people can learn to develop and work towards small, achievable goals. This can help build a sense of accomplishment and increase motivation.
Your therapist will help you identify your values. Values are the things that are most important to you in life. Values can serve as a guide for setting meaningful and motivating goals.
You’ll learn to set SMART goals:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
This can help increase motivation and ensure that goals are realistic and attainable.
You’ll learn to break larger goals into smaller, more manageable steps. This can help prevent overwhelm and increase the likelihood of success.
Your CBT therapist will help you track your progress toward your goals. This can help increase motivation and provide a sense of accomplishment.
You’ll also be encouraged to celebrate your successes, no matter how small. Celebrating successes can help increase motivation and build confidence.
The therapist helps the client adjust their goals as needed. They may adjust based on their progress and changing circumstances. This can help ensure that goals remain realistic and achievable.
Preventing Relapse
CBT can help people develop strategies to prevent relapse of depression. You’ll learn to identify triggers that may contribute to depression. Examples include stressful life events or negative thoughts. By identifying triggers, clients can learn to anticipate and manage them more effectively.
You’ll learn to develop coping strategies to manage depressive symptoms when they occur. You will also be encouraged to seek support when needed.
Your CBT therapist will also give you recommendations for ongoing treatment. For example, they may recommend regular check-ins or booster sessions.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression: Now You Know
Cognitive behavioral therapy for depression can be beneficial for many different people. Talk to your doctor, and see if it might be a good choice for your needs.
Are you ready to get started? Contact Collaborative Change Counseling and Wellness today.
