Guide Note

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is used as a treatment for OCD, depression, hypochondria, phobias, social anxiety, addiction and a variety of other disorders. Distinct from traditional talk therapy, it is a set of tools designed to interrupt self-destructive patterns of behavior. This page compiles useful resources on CBT.

Methods

Exposure: This method, often used to treat Panic Disorder, Phobias and, especially, OCD, involves exposing the patient to the object, thought, or situation that triggers his anxiety. With repeated exposures, he will theoretically "habituate" to the feared object, and the anxiety will decrease.

Behavior Modification: This approach, often used in conjunction with exposure, guides the patient to modify self-defeating and self-destructive patterns of behavior. These negative behaviors include the irrational avoidance of anxiety-provoking objects and scenarios, and the indulgence in rituals meant to lessen anxiety in the short run, which only heighten it in the longer term.

Reframing Irrational Beliefs: In this technique, the patient is taught to analyze the underlying beliefs that exacerbate her anxiety, then consider a more realistic scenario.

Fast Facts

1. Form of therapy not based on traditional psychoanalysis
2. Used for anxiety disorders, as well as depression
3. Often used in conjunction with antidepressant drugs
4. Has gained favor for treatment of some anxiety disorders

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