What is CBT?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a general term that includes several different types of treatment. These treatments include exposure therapy, rational-emotive therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). They also share a basic structure around the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings and behaviors, rather than people and events in the outside world. CBT therapies are based on changing the way you think to change the outcomes you have.
CBT emphasizes the importance of the personal meaning we place on things, as well as how thinking patterns begin in childhood. Faulty or inaccurate beliefs about the self are replaced with more functional thinking patterns.
How long does it take?
CBT is a brief therapy model. How much time you might need depends on the severity and number of issues you want to work on.
Treatment plans for CBT
CBT involves a collaborative effort between the therapist and the client, with continual adjustments to the plan as treatment progresses. The clinician personalizes and structures a plan to the needs of the client and there is a specific agenda for sessions. Sometimes, homework is given to help the client practice outside of sessions. Clinicians may use workbooks, handouts as well as phone apps as helpful tools.
Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT lends itself exceptionally well to an online format. Your therapist can email you the needed handouts, or even share his or her screen during sessions to help you work on specific protocols for anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma and other issues. The structure of CBT treatment allows you to work on your treatment plan between sessions as well, with your therapist guiding you online during your scheduled sessions.