Paulette Trueblood is certified in cognitive behavioral treatment (Boston University post-graduate program) with additional training in dialectical behavior.
The goal of CBT is to help people change the way they deal with an issue or emotional problem by helping them change their patterns of thinking. We do this by focusing on the thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes that are currently held (the cognitive processes) and understanding how these processes affect a person’s current behavior in their way of dealing with issues. CBT is based on the theory that it is not events themselves that upset us, but the meanings we give to those events. Changing these cognitive processes can help us find alternative, positive ways to face our life situations.
How Does CBT Work?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy differs from many other types of psychotherapy because sessions have a structure, rather than being free-flowing. It is a collaborative, non-judgmental, approach that is problem focused and practical in nature. At the beginning of the therapy, the client meets the therapist to describe specific problems and to set goals they want to work towards. These problems and goals then become the basis for planning the content of sessions and discussing how to deal with them. They work together develop new strategies. Often there is homework involved as the client begins to put these strategies into practice. CBT introduces patients to a set of principles that they can apply whenever they need to, coping skills that will last them a lifetime.
Can this Approach Help ME?
Clinical trials have shown that CBT can reduce the symptoms of many emotional disorders, and that the benefits tend to last longer. It is most helpful for people who can relate to the problem-solving approach. We have found CBT to be especially effective in treating:
- Anger management issues
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Depression
- Eating problems
- Marital and family conflict
- Poor communication
- Sexual or relationship problems
- Sleep problems
History of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT was invented in the 1960s by psychiatrist Aaron Beck. He observed that during his traditional analytical sessions, his patients tended to have an internal dialogue going on in their minds — almost as if they were talking to themselves. Beck realized that the link between thoughts and feelings was very important. He invented the term “automatic thoughts” to describe emotion-filled thoughts that might pop up in the mind. If our thoughts are too negative, it can block us seeing things or doing things that don’t fit – that disconfirm – what we believe is true. In other words, we continue to hold on to the same old thoughts and fail to learn anything new.
He discovered that people weren’t always fully aware of such thoughts, but could learn to identify and report them. Identifying these thoughts was the key to the client understanding and overcoming his or her difficulties.
The practice has become known as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) because the therapy employs creating both new thoughts and new behaviors. CBT has since undergone successful scientific trials in many places by different teams, and has been applied to a wide variety of problems.
About Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) skills are integrated into my sessions to help clients with their issues as needed. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of DBT in treating a number of mental health issues such as anxiety, anger, depression and addictions.
DBT has four sets of skills:
- Mindful Living: Involves learning to live more fully in the present rather than dwelling in the past or worrying about the future.
- Distress Tolerance: Involves tolerating and accepting crisis situations and then finding ways to be as effective as possible.
- Emotional Regulation: Involves managing intense emotion that can interfere with functioning effectively in life.
- Interpersonal Effectiveness: Involves improving communication, assertiveness, and problem solving.
DBT is collaborative. Patients are asked to be actively involved in the treatment by giving their input, doing homework, practicing skills.
Developed in the late 1970s by psychologist Marsha Linehan, working at the University of Washington, DBT is a specific type of CBT. Linehan originally was trying to treat patients with extreme swings in their emotions and as a result one crisis after another in their lives. She searched treatments in the broad field of mental health to find the best strategies in treating her patients, creating the above four sets of skills.
see Wikipedia for more information
