Cognitive behavioral therapy: How does CBT work?

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is a short-term therapy technique that can help people find new ways to behave by changing their thought patterns.

CBT works on the basis that the way we think and interpret life’s events affects how we behave and, ultimately, how we feel. Studies have shown that it is useful in many situations. 

During a course of CBT, a person can learn to:

• identify problems more clearly
• develop an awareness of automatic thoughts
• challenge underlying assumptions that may be wrong
• distinguish between facts and irrational thoughts
• understand how past experience can affect present feelings and beliefs
• stop fearing the worst
• see a situation from a different perspective
• better understand other people’s actions and motivations
• develop a more positive way of thinking and seeing situations
• become more aware of their own mood
• establish attainable goals
• avoid generalizations and all-or-nothing thinking.