What is CBT?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a practical and effective form of therapy that helps people understand how their thoughts affect their feelings and behaviors. It’s based on the idea that your thoughts influence how you feel and act.
It's one of the most widely-used forms of therapy worldwide, helping millions of people manage their mental health effectively. Helping with a variety of challenges you might face, like difficulty sleeping, relationship problems, anxiety and depression.
The ABC’s of CBT
At its core, CBT works by showing you how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all connected. Let's look at the ABC model that makes CBT so practical:
A - Activating Event: This is what triggers you. Say you made a small mistake at work.
B - Beliefs: These are your thoughts about what happened. You might think "I'm terrible at my job, I'll probably get fired."
C - Consequences: How you feel and act based on those beliefs. You might feel anxious, withdraw from colleagues, or overwork to compensate.
Here's where CBT gets interesting: by changing your beliefs about situations, you can change how you feel and act. Using the same work example, CBT might help you think "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and I can learn from this one." This new perspective might help you feel calmer and handle the situation more constructively.
CBT is often recommended by doctors and mental health professionals because it's practical, skills-based and proven effective through decades of research.
People who complete CBT often experience:
Better emotional regulation
Reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression
Improved problem-solving skills
More balanced thinking patterns
Better sleep
Increased confidence in handling life's challenges
What makes CBT particularly powerful is that once you learn these skills, they're yours for life. You'll have tools to handle future challenges, whether it's a stressful job interview, relationship conflict, or managing everyday worries. Think of it as building your own personal toolkit for mental wellness.
References:
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). "Cognitive Therapy of Depression." New York: Guilford Press. This is considered the foundational text that established CBT as we know it today, particularly for treating depression.
Butler, A. C., Chapman, J. E., Forman, E. M., & Beck, A. T. (2006). "The empirical status of cognitive-behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses." Clinical Psychology Review, 26(1), 17-31. A comprehensive review that analyzed the effectiveness of CBT across various conditions.
Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). "The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses." Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427-440. This meta-analysis examined the evidence base for CBT across multiple disorders.
Clark, D. M. (1986). "A cognitive approach to panic." Behaviour Research and Therapy, 24(4), 461-470. A seminal paper that helped establish CBT's effectiveness for anxiety and panic disorders.
Dobson, K. S. (1989). "A meta-analysis of the efficacy of cognitive therapy for depression." Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57(3), 414-419. One of the earlier meta-analyses that helped establish CBT's effectiveness for depression.
Barlow, D. H., Allen, L. B., & Choate, M. L. (2004). "Toward a unified treatment for emotional disorders." Behavior Therapy, 35(2), 205-230. An influential paper that helped extend CBT principles across different types of emotional disorders.