The Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

It may seem like a bit of a mouthful, but Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (known as CBT) is one of the foremost treatments for anxiety and panic disorders – and also one of the most effective. Many patients find a combination of CBT and traditional psychiatrist help and assessment is just what they need to combat their anxiety problems.

CBT is based on retraining the way they brain thinks. When someone suffers from an anxiety problem, it is because their mind is making a subconscious decision or overreaction to a particular stimulus. CBT is designed to find the root cause of the problem, and persuade the mind through therapy sessions and workshops to see things differently. This can remove the element of fear and whatever else may be causing the anxiety, but not by riding over the top of the problem as medication might. Instead, CBT focuses on retraining the brain.

In terms of efficacy, CBT is perhaps the most realistic way of overcoming problems with anxiety. It is replacing conventional psychiatric treatments for some people, who prefer the less intensive and intrusive elements of CBT. A session with a psychiatrist can be quite taxing mentally, whereas CBT is designed to move at your own pace.

CBT is generally conducted by psychologists’, and tends to work as an intensive program of six or eight weeks. Patients can have as many programs as they wish, until they feel they have grasped the problem. When CBT is grasped and the new methods learned, a patient may need nothing more than an occasional refresher course for the rest of their life.