Disclaimer: This article is not meant to serve as medical recommendations or advice, but a post that serves the purpose of bringing awareness to the topic. Please consult a medical professional if you are considering cognitive behavioural therapy.
The type of therapy that people are most familiar with, and one that is the most frequently depicted in many types of media is psychotherapy, or talk therapy. One specific subtype of talk therapy is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, also known as CBT.
CBT allows for emotional issues to be addressed such as ones stemming from mental health disorders, such as depression or anxiety. It focuses deeply on learning how to manage uncomfortable or even painful emotions or feelings that can arise from complicated situations. It serves to increase distress tolerance - as in, the ability to handle anxiety or stress-provoking thoughts.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy introduces patients to tools and techniques such as journaling, mood check-ins, changing a view on a certain situation from “glass half-empty” to “glass half-full”, and more. It causes negative thought patterns to be identified and then altered, or even replaced. It requires patients to monitor their reactions to certain occurrences, and then to analyze whether their behavior in response to that is healthy.
Typically, there is no one standard length for how long CBT is supposed to last. However, it tends to be a relatively shorter form of therapy. Ideally, it would depend on how severe the mental health of the patient is. It can be used individually, or in combination with medication or other types of therapies.
To find some mental health resources accessible at UCSD, please click on the Resources tab in the menu bar.
