CBT – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Depression

The definition of CBT

Cognitive: A term describing your thoughts and anything to do with the mind’s function, i.e. dreams, images, etc.

Behavioral: Refers to how we respond to situations, i.e. things we do and also the things we don’t do.

Therapy: The process you’re going through now. As you can see, it’s nothing like the dramatized leather couch. Therapy can include self help therapy, group therapy or therapy with a doctor.

The basics of CBT

CBT describes a number of therapies that all have a similar approach to solving problems; these can range from depression, as in your case, to insomnia or relationship problems. CBT is a combination of cognitive and behavioral therapy that focuses on the thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes that we hold (our cognitive processes) and how these relate to the way we behave, as a way of dealing with emotional problems.

CBT is based on the idea that your thoughts are what cause your feelings and behaviors, not external stimuli like people, situations and events. That is, it’s not the stimulus itself that creates an emotional response directly, but instead, it is your evaluation of your thought about that stimulus. The benefit of this insight is that you can change the way you think so that you feel and act better, even if the situation hasn’t changed. As you can see in the figure, there is a cycle of consequences with everything you do, and this plays a great part in your overall feelings, which in turn affects your depression.

How CBT will help you

CBT helps you to identify and challenge your specific problems

CBT is a problem specific and pragmatic approach in that it helps you to identify your specific problems such as depression and then gives you tools so that you can work with them. CBT differs from other therapies because these sessions have a structure, rather than the person talking/thinking freely about whatever comes to mind. In the next session you are going to identify your specific problems that contribute to making you feel depressed, and you will set up goals to work towards. The problems may be troublesome symptoms, such as sleeping badly, not being able to socialize with friends, or difficulty concentrating on reading or work. Or they could be life problems, such as being unhappy at work, having trouble dealing with an adolescent child, or being in an unhappy marriage.

CBT teaches you to think in a different way

CBT is particularly well developed and empirically supported in the case of depression, where clients frequently experience excessively negative thoughts which arise automatically even in response to stimuli which might otherwise be experienced as positive. CBT helps you understand the importance of thinking and how it affects how you feel and what you do. This is one of the core fundamentals of CBT and it will help you to work on your problems and overcome your depression. CBT tries to teach you skills for dealing with your depression. As you are depressed, this very much includes learning to record your thoughts and look at them more realistically. It will help you to break the downward spiral of your depressive mood.

CBT helps you to unlearn unwanted reactions

CBT is based on the scientifically supported assumption that most emotional and behavioral reactions such as those that cause depression are learned. Therefore, the aim is to help you unlearn your unwanted reactions and to learn a new way of reacting that will help you overcome depression. The educational emphasis of CBT has an additional benefit in that it leads to long term results. When people understand how and why they are doing well, they know what to do to continue doing well.

CBT supports you with hands on tools to overcome depression

Help is available online - use the links below to learn more or to take a test.