Table of Contents
What are CBT beliefs?
CBT is based on the idea that how we think (cognition), how we feel (emotion) and how we act (behavior) all interact together. Specifically, our thoughts determine our feelings and our behavior. Therefore, negative and unrealistic thoughts can cause us distress and result in problems. Beck’s cognitive therapy (CT) focuses on the distortions and thought processes that can lead to negative behaviors. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) takes this modality a step further, ensuring clients remove their cognitive distortions and automatic thoughts, along with changing their behaviors. However, with consistent effort over time in applying effective techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)—often over several months and beyond– negative core beliefs can changed with often dramatic positive effects. According to Dr. Aaron Beck, negative thoughts, generated by dysfunctional beliefs are typically the primary cause of depressive symptoms. A direct relationship occurs between the amount and severity of someone’s negative thoughts and the severity of their depressive symptoms.
What are the core values of CBT?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) recognises the importance of healthy thinking – healthy thoughts are flexible, consistent with reality, logical and helpful. When we think in unhealthy ways we think rigidly, illogically, inconsistently with reality and unhelpfully. So values are choices, not dogma. In the evolution of CBT as the most empirically validated form of psychotherapy, each of its three waves (behavioural therapy, cognitive therapy and acceptance-based therapies) has brought unique contributions to improve its effectiveness. CBT as a modality is based around gaslighting. It’s all about telling a patient that the world is safe, bad feelings are temporary, and that pain (emotional or physical) is a “faulty or unhelpful” distortion of thinking. That’s literally in CBT’s definition on the APA website. In the 1960s, Aaron Beck developed cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) or cognitive therapy. He theorized that in order to change the symptoms, he must change their distorted thinking. This belief led to the development of cognitive behavioral therapy. Beck was the recipient of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his creation of cognitive therapy.