Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adults
Cognitive behavioral therapy is used to treat a wide range of issues. It’s often the preferred type of psychotherapy because it can quickly help you identify and cope with specific challenges.
CBT generally focuses on specific problems, using a goal-oriented approach. Treatment generally lasts between 6-20 sessions.
Types of Therapies
The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center of Hawaii offers several different treatment approaches, all within the family of cognitive therapies.
These include:
-
Evaluation and Treatment Planning
-
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
-
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
-
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
-
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Evaluation and Treatment Planning
Starting treatment begins with a first meeting to help the therapist clearly understand why you’re seeking therapy. In the first couple of sessions, we’ll go over important issues, including an intake interview and a few simple written questionnaires. Once we finish this process, we’ll create a plan that outlines the best next steps. This plan might involve just psychotherapy or could include recommendations for extra services, like a medical check-up or a more specialized treatment.
Types of Therapies
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is one of the most well-established modern forms of psychotherapy, built on several key principles:
- Focus on the present: It’s crucial to address today’s problems instead of dwelling on the past. While past experiences can influence our thinking and responses, it’s the present issues that we can change.
- The power of thoughts: Our thoughts significantly impact our emotions and actions.
- Controlling thoughts: We have the ability to be aware of, evaluate, and change unhelpful thoughts.
- Beliefs and their influence: Thoughts are often based on long-standing beliefs or rules about the world. Sometimes, these beliefs can be mistaken, leading to unnecessary depression, anxiety, anger, or other difficulties.
- Changing unhelpful beliefs: By altering unhelpful beliefs, we can achieve a healthier and more effective life.
Extensive research over the years has proven CBT to be one of the most effective psychological treatments. It’s as effective as medication for treating depression and anxiety and is considered the gold-standard treatment for issues such as recurring panic attacks and recovering from traumatic events.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
Getting better through psychotherapy is common, but so is falling back into old patterns. MBCT not only helps people who have recovered from depression stay depression-free, but it also addresses other concerns like anxiety and different issues.
MBCT is a shorter type of psychotherapy, lasting just eight sessions. In this therapy, patients learn to practice mindfulness, which is a mental state where you calmly observe the present moment without judgment, instead of getting caught up in your thoughts. This mindfulness skill helps break the cycle of negative thinking before it starts and lets a person be more mentally strong when facing life’s tough moments.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Sometimes, when we face tough thoughts and feelings, we react in ways that make them even worse. When trying to change these inner experiences becomes a problem, ACT can help. This therapy teaches you to accept your inner world and the world around you. It shows you how to handle difficult emotions, making them less bothersome and powerful, while focusing on what really matters to you.
ACT helps replace struggling with anxiety, depression, or other unpleasant feelings with more acceptance and a better ability to live the life you want.
ACT is even more focused on making the present moment better than CBT, without worrying too much about the past or future. When you try ACT, you’ll learn to recognize what’s important to you, even when facing tough situations and feelings. You’ll commit to making choices based on your values, no matter how hard things get. Like Nietzsche said, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” ACT helps you find your meaning in life and take actions that make it more meaningful.
Book an Appointment
Fill below to request an appointment.