Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is highly effective in treating a variety of physical health problems in numerous studies. CBT techniques might assist people to cope with distressing illnesses, minimize negative feelings that make medical problems worse and even cure certain diseases. A large body of research supports the use of CBT for chronic pain, heart disease, gastrointestinal problems, and high blood pressure, to name a few.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy is a form of psychotherapy or psychological medicine that helps people acquire tools to deal with life’s difficulties, depression, or anxiety disorders. The goal of CBT is not to eliminate the feelings, but rather to come up with an effective response that can help manage them more effectively.
CBT techniques help people learn how to identify negative patterns in thinking or behaviors, recognize irrational beliefs or thoughts. CBT can also help people learn new, helpful ways of reacting to difficult situations and mental illness.
Cognitive Behavioral Principles
The 10 Cognitive Behavioral Principles below can help you understand the entire approach of CBT.
- All behavior has a purpose. It is how we behave, not what we do that determines our success in life.
- You cannot control everything but you can control your reaction to situations and events around you.
People are creatures of habit and they often repeat behaviors out of habit without thinking through the consequences. - All of our daily behaviors, thoughts, and feelings are influenced by the meaning we attach to a particular experience or event.
- We always try to avoid pain and seek pleasure as this is part of our survival instinct.
- Our behavior is motivated by our desire to feel good.
- Emotions are often irrational but can have a very strong influence on our behavior.
- Negative thoughts cause us distress and lead to negative behaviors which further worsen the situation.
- Rational beliefs are not always true because we sometimes distort reality or exaggerate its importance.
- We develop self-defeating patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that work against us.
Eating Disorders
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is frequently used in treating eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa. Patients with these disorders frequently have all sorts of distorted beliefs about their physical appearance, food, weight and balanced cholesterol levels.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has been successfully used to cope with physical health-related problems such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular issues, and gastrointestinal problems. CBT can help people to understand how physical symptoms may be caused or reinforced by their attitudes and behavior, and how they might better react to the stress that triggers them. This might also enable someone to alleviate uncomfortable feelings (emotional and behavioral disorders) without resorting to unhealthy coping strategies (such as smoking or drinking).
Health Problems
Health-related problems associated with the mind are frequently confused with health problems of the body, this leads to ineffective treatments. CBT also treats physical health conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular issues, and gastrointestinal problems. CBT can assist individuals in recognizing how their thoughts and actions may cause or promote physical symptoms, as well as how they might react to stress in a better way.
Health psychology is a new field that incorporates the study of mind and body effects. This involves a new way of thinking about health, illness, and the role which psychological factors play in both. Health psychology uses scientific methods to investigate how cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social factors impact physical well-being.
CBT is an important component and it can help people learn how to better cope with these illnesses. A large number of studies show that CBT is an effective treatment for many health conditions and is sometimes even considered superior to more traditional, medical-based treatments.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder that affects the central nervous system. It is frequently characterized by fatigue, spasticity, memory difficulties, depression, anxiety, and mood swings. CBT has been used to help MS patients cope with their symptoms more effectively. Intrusive or distressing thoughts and feelings can be managed with the use of psychological techniques such as CBT, which helps MS patients to live a more fulfilling life.
CBT could help people with diabetes exercise effectively
Exercise is important to managing diabetes. Many diabetes sufferers are aware of the pain and don’t exercise. Exercise can help to lower blood sugar levels while reducing the effects of obesity on health. In 2019 the Annals of Family Medicine published a study that showed that CBT could assist this patient to get regular exercise. All participants who had diabetes suffered and could use a CBT program to exercise. The participants who received the CBT did more exercise in lower pain and increased functionality than the controls.
CBT may help pregnant women with insomnia
Traditional treatments for insomnia – in women and men – might not be available because of potential risks of pregnancy. Although women on prescription drug meds might think they could be safe they may be skeptical if they take it. According to researchers, CBT is useful for preventing and treating stress and anxiety for women who need it the most. Researchers in the U.S. showed that CBT is effective during six weeks for insomnia but could be used to make the symptoms more likely for women.
Chronic Diseases
Chronic disease or condition refers to an illness that lasts a long time. They are also called chronic health problems or illnesses. Some examples of chronic diseases include heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and arthritis.
Chronic medical problems are also considered to be any health condition that lasts for 12 months or more. A chronic disease or condition can be either stable (not getting worse) or unstable (getting worse). Chronic diseases are usually long-term conditions that affect the person over a long period of time. Managing chronic disease is often a long-term challenge for people of all ages. Physical ailments that could be managed best with CBT include cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and back pain.
Chronic Illness
CBT for health problems addresses the mind-body connection by suggesting a role for the mind in the cause as well as the treatment of illness. More and more in medicine, people are seen as complex systems. In other words, illness is understood to be caused by many different factors rather than one single biological factor. CBT for health problems, therefore, moves away from an outdated linear model of health, understanding that illness can be caused by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. This more modern conceptualization is known as the biopsychosocial model of health and illness.
Chronic Pain
Chronic or persistent pain results when the nervous system becomes accustomed to perceiving pain. CBT is used in chronic pain treatment because patients tend to amplify the importance of the pain, which leads to increased stress and anxiety. People who suffer from chronic pain often have negative beliefs about themselves and their bodies. CBT helps them recognize these thoughts, feelings, and reactions they demonstrate every day. When they become aware of them, people often can alter their understanding of the pain and also change their behavior in response to it.
Chronic Stress Symptoms and CBT
Chronic stress can seriously affect life quality. Critical illness, loss of a loved one, and other stress-inducing situations affect people in the short and long terms. The symptoms that arise from feeling overwhelmed can cause additional distress that might be best managed by working with an anxiety specialist for treatment using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
The American Psychological Association (APA) states: “Cognitive Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are the most widely practiced brief, skills-based therapies for a wide range of conditions including mood, anxiety and personality disorders.
CBT Sessions and Therapies
The CBT therapist will take the perspective that he or she is working with a person who already has qualities, strengths, and feelings that are good enough. Cognitive Psychotherapies sessions are not suitable for everyone with health problems since they require collaboration on many levels. The therapist referring a patient for cognitive therapy will try to determine if the patient has sufficient qualities, motivation, and insight into his or her own emotional health and mental health conditions.
The therapy usually lasts 6-8 weeks with sessions once a week. It might help patients to attend more often in the early stages of treatment. CBT sessions are goal-oriented so therapists will set specific targets together with their patients.
Psychological Therapy
Cognitive therapy sessions for health problems are based on the concept that thoughts, feelings, and behavior all influence each other. A psychological therapist will manage a treatment plan and help the patient develop a thought pattern that helps manage his or her health conditions, illness, or disease. The patient learns to recognize self-defeating behaviors and replace them with healthier ones.
Pros and cons of CBT
The traditional separation of mind and body has been challenged by mainstream medicine over the last few decades. Concerning early studies, instead of the more traditional dualistic model of health and illness, medicine has moved toward an increasing focus on the importance of the interaction between mind and body. The holistic or whole-person approach to health evidence such a shift in the way we understand and treat illness.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy may be as successful as medicine to treat some mental health problems but it may not be suitable for everyone. Some analysts argue that because CBT addresses current problems only but does not specifically address mental health concerns like unhappy childhood. A few disadvantages of CBT to consider include: It does not work as well as medicine and is not appropriate for many people.
Resources
At the end of a bad mood, stopping may help to look at the thoughts that are running through your mind. Most cognitive therapy manuals provide more information concerning this language-challenging approach.
In some clinical situations, it may be appropriate to supplement medical management with the use of a structured patient manual with which patients can use to work out problems between consultations. Online Resources can be obtained from the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research in Philadelphia or The Center for Cognitive Therapy Huntington Beach, CA.
The British Association of America for cognitive behavior therapists is searching online for certified cognitive psychology therapists.
Referring a patient for Cognitive Therapy
The people most likely to benefit from cognitive therapy are those who can recognize and differentiate feelings and behaviors. Medicaid patients who are able to participate in therapy may be individuals who experience a wide range of mental health conditions, including depression. The best candidates for this type of work are those who have a sense that there is a problem and a willingness to confront it.
Patients diagnosed with mental illnesses related to chronic medical conditions may benefit from referral for cognitive therapy including patients who accept the application of cognitive therapy. Patients with acute medical conditions might benefit from talking to a qualified medical consultant. Accepting Medicaid patients can be costly for therapists. The best way to make sure the patient is ready for therapy is by contacting your local Medicaid office.
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What happens during CBT sessions?
For all CBT sessions, your therapist may suggest a weekly or a 2-week appointment. The treatment course takes place from 5 to 20 sessions, each session lasting 30 to 60 minutes. Therapy is meant to help you understand what you learned about life. This can help you deal with your problems with a positive outcome even after your CBT program has ended. After working out why you can change your life your therapist will ask you how you can practice changes in your life and you will discuss how you are improving.
What illnesses is CBT used for?
CBT has been used to treat a wide variety of physical and mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders, mood disorders, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse.
Who is CBT not suitable for?
CBT is not suitable for people who are severely depressed, delusional, or experiencing a severe psychotic episode. In addition to this, CBT can also be ineffective if the person does not want to participate in the program.
What are the 5 areas of CBT?
The 5 areas of CBT are:
- Cognition – This area includes thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes.
- Behaviour – This area includes what people do or do not do.
- Emotions – This area includes how people feel.
- Interpersonal relationships – This area includes how people interact with other people and their environment.
- Physiology – This area includes how the body works and what affects it.
What are the 3 levels of CBT?
The 3 levels of CBT are:
- The first level is the behavioral activation (BA) level. This is where you focus on changing your behavior.
- The second level is the cognitive restructuring (CR) level. This is where you focus on changing your thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes.
- The third level is the mindfulness/acceptance level. This is where you focus on changing your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.
