One of the most common and effective options for mental health treatment is cognitive-behavioral therapy. At FHE Health, we use CBT therapy in Deerfield Beach as a core part of our treatment protocol for conditions such as substance abuse and mental health disorders. Focusing on the unique needs of each patient, we develop an individualized treatment plan that targets their specific needs.
What Is CBT? (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
People with substance abuse or mental health disorders experience destructive and negative thoughts. These self-defeating thoughts work against them and lead to behaviors that drive addiction and prolong mental illness. Cognitive behavioral therapy uses a structured approach to help patients change distorted thinking patterns. The underlying goal of CBT therapy at FHE is to help you achieve a balance and replace irrational and unhelpful thought patterns.
CBT helps you recognize the relationship between thoughts, feelings, beliefs and the associated behaviors. For example, if someone becomes discouraged when things don’t go their way, that can lead to self-deprecating thoughts such as:
- They hate themselves.
- This always happens to them.
- They are angry, frustrated or sad.
To cope with those feelings, they may turn to alcohol or drugs or develop a mental illness. Therapists at FHE use CBT to help recognize negative thought patterns, understand why, and change their thinking.
CBT isn’t a step-by-step process, but rather, a set of therapies that create a positive and healing change. At the heart of CBT is the concept that the way you see an event determines how you’ll act. The idea is that negative thought patterns distort your focus, efforts and motivation. With the help of a CBT therapist, you can learn how to change those negative thoughts and, by doing so, reframe your beliefs so they are positive and balanced.
What Is CBT Effective at Treating?
Studies consistently show that CBT is effective at reducing depression, anxiety and stress. Additionally, the therapy is effective as an adjunct treatment for psychotic disorders and in reducing depressive symptoms associated with bipolar disorders. At FHE, we use CBT to help patients overcome unhelpful beliefs and to support long-term recovery from cocaine addiction and other forms of substance abuse.
What Is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Session Like?
When you start CBT, our therapists focus on making you comfortable. We’ll discuss the issues that brought you to FHE and talk about immediate concerns. The therapist will listen to you, gain your trust and help you to start talking about your condition.
Initially, CBT is conducted in one-on-one sessions in our cognitive behavioral therapy treatment center. At a later stage, and when you’re comfortable, we may introduce you to group therapy. This could be with family members or with people who share the same issues.
During CBT, you’ll learn about how thinking processes contribute to your health or substance abuse problems. We’ll explore negative thought patterns related to your condition. Our therapist will explain specific techniques to help you turn those negative thoughts around. These include techniques like stress management, assertiveness, coping mechanisms and relaxation.
During therapy, we’ll talk about your feelings and the difficulties you are facing. Each step in the process will focus on your individualized needs, and we’ll adapt the session to your way of thinking. We’ll ask about situations or conditions that are making your life difficult. These include emotions such as anger, grief or depression, and medical conditions, substance abuse or mental illness.
As part of the therapeutic process, we show you how to identify negative and inaccurate thinking. Our therapists will discuss how this thinking triggers the physical, emotional and behavioral responses that occur when such a situation arises. We’ll help you reshape these moments of inaccurate thinking, using techniques that teach you to ask yourself whether your view of the situation in that moment is accurate.
Changing deeply held beliefs and thinking is the most difficult aspect of CBT. But with practice and patience, you’ll discover it’s possible to swap negative thinking and concepts for more neutral and realistic ideas.
Steps in CBT generally include:
- Identifying the troubling situation or those conditions in life making it difficult, such as anger, grief, a medical condition or symptoms of a mental illness
- Becoming aware of thoughts and emotions that occur because of these problems
- Learning to identify negative or inaccurate thinking, including considering physical, emotional and behavioral responses that occur when a situation arises
- Learning to reshape those moments of inaccurate thinking, such as by asking yourself whether the view of the situation in that moment is accurate. This is the longest and most difficult step, but with practice and patience, it’s possible to reverse thinking away from negative emotions.
What Are the Goals of CBT?
Those negative thoughts and feelings are what can directly impact what you do going forward. CBT doesn’t cure any type of substance use disorder or mental health condition. However, it can provide you with the ability to see what is happening and, in some cases, stop taking the negative action.
As a goal-oriented treatment plan, a large portion of this process revolves around learning to change a thought pattern to create a more positive outcome during real-life situations. This happens outside of the group session during day-to-day life.
CBT Techniques Used at FHE
We use CBT to help you recognize the behaviors that contribute to your illness and to change negative thinking. On its own, CBT doesn’t cure substance abuse disorder or mental health conditions. But therapy gives you the ability to see what is happening in your life and how to initiate positive changes. As a goal-oriented treatment plan, a large part of the process revolves around learning how to change harmful thought patterns to create more positive outcomes in real-life situations.
Change does not happen overnight. CBT psychotherapy takes time as you work through a process that changes the way you see yourself. This ultimately changes the way you view the world and your thought patterns. Apart from challenging negative thinking patterns (cognitive restructuring), we focus on other CBT techniques to encourage and embed change. Some of these are mindfulness, exposure therapy and journaling.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness-based interventions are a way of reducing stress. Mindfulness means being aware of your mental and physical condition. It’s the ability to understand your current emotional and behavioral state and your natural reaction during a confrontation, argument or provocative situation.
In mindfulness, the goal is to stop yourself from descending into an emotional or physical spiral. You become mindful of what you’re thinking and what’s likely to happen if you don’t stop negative or emotional thoughts.
Exposure Therapy
During exposure therapy, the therapist helps you confront and face your fears and anxieties in a controlled environment. We use various techniques that aim to reduce emotional responses to negative stimuli and to desensitize you to things that trigger negative emotions.
Journaling
Journal therapy helps you track thoughts and feelings in a structured way. It improves self-awareness and helps identify triggers affecting behavior and mental health. Reflective and systematic journaling helps you gain a better insight into your thoughts. For many people, the act of writing helps reduce stress and tension.
The History of CBT
CBT was conceived in the 1960s as a way to capture the internal dialogues people have within themselves that drive their outward reactions. The therapy was developed by psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck. In his treatment of people with a variety of mental health and addiction disorders, he noticed people often had inward conversations with themselves.
He observed that patients’ thoughts impacted the way they felt. He called these automatic thoughts. Over time, he developed a way to understand and change those thoughts, and this later became CBT. His work and overall methods are still used today by CBT therapists at FHE Health.
How CBT Fits Into Your Treatment Plan at FHE
Scientists realize the brain plays an enormous role in mental health and substance abuse treatment. Related to this has been the discovery that therapy can help you understand how your mind works. Additionally, the brain has what’s known as neuroplasticity, and CBT therapy can constructively alter the structure of the brain into a healthier state.
Our therapists at FHE use CBT as part of your treatment plan because the technique is so effective at helping reverse negative thinking. CBT helps you manage obsessive thoughts and behaviors. It empowers you to develop practical tools and strategies to manage your condition.
FAQ
- Does cognitive behavioral therapy for addiction really help?
Yes, CBT helps you understand the reasons for your addiction and develop coping skills to manage triggers that may lead to a relapse. - Can CBT improve my mental health in the long term?
Yes, the practical and coping skills you learn from CBT help you identify negative thinking and positively change thought patterns. - Does insurance cover CBT?
Most health insurers offer coverage for CBT, provided it’s deemed medically necessary and is part of a documented treatment plan.
Find Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Near You at FHE Health
As one of the core treatment options at FHE Health, CBT therapy in Deerfield Beach helps you move beyond negative thoughts toward recovery. If you have a mental health or substance use disorder, CBT can help you understand your thought patterns. A treatment plan that fits your needs is available to you at our cognitive behavioral therapy treatment center. Contact us today to learn more about CBT for mental health in Florida.
