Unfortunately, I had a pretty traumatic childhood. My parents were always fighting, and I was faced with trying to decide what to do about my own personal feelings. When I got older, I knew that I needed to do something to relieve the stress that I was feeling even many years later, so I started focusing on going to counseling. My first few appointments were a little nerve-racking, but the counselor worked hard to make me feel comfortable. I was really impressed with how gentle and kind she was, and I felt really great about the progress I was making. This blog is all about benefiting from counseling.
Benefitting From Counseling
Can CBT Counseling Help You Train Your Brain?
Ron Henry
If you have been looking into counseling, you may have heard about cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. This is a common method of therapy and counseling for those who are struggling with thoughts and behaviors.
Do you want to more about CBT? Here are a few things you need to know.
What Is the Goal of CBT?
Cognitive behavioral therapy works by retraining your brain. It helps you identify distortions in your brain, including generalizing and personalizing, so that you can identify when thoughts are not realistic or are detrimental to your state of mind. The goal is for you to be able to change your behavior.
The main concept behind CBT is that many of the problems people face could be linked to unhelpful thoughts or learned patterns. In order to see a change in symptoms, you must train your brain to think differently and change patterns of thought. Another goal is to build self-esteem and confidence. For people with depression and anxiety, building self-esteem can be an important part of treatment.
What Happens During CBT Sessions?
Each CBT session may be different. During your initial counseling sessions, you may simply talk about the bad patterns you are in as well as the symptoms you have been experiencing. The goal is to change these patterns, and the counselor will listen to you carefully to put together a plan for treatment.
In some sessions, you may discuss distortions in thought. You will discuss which thoughts might be distorted and how this might be the case. You will use problem-solving skills to assess the situation and to discuss the motivations of others and yourself.
In some sessions, your counselor might push you to face some of your fears. For example, you might go to a party even though you are afraid to be around other people. You may build up to this by learning grounding techniques, for instance.
You may also spend sessions roleplaying. This will help you think through the things you want to say and do. You will also build confidence in what you want to say and how you want to say it.
Contact a Professional to Learn More About CBT
Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you get the counseling you need. If you think you would benefit from this type of counseling or therapy session, contact a professional counselor. Help is available to train your brain to think differently.
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