Consider this: You scored tickets to the Olympic hockey game between USA and Canada. You invite your Canadian friend to go with you. Canada wins the game! You feel disappointed and a little bit sad. Your friend feels ecstatic and re-energized. You are both in the exact same situation – standing in the stadium watching the aftermath of the Canadian win. How is it possible that you and your friend are experiencing wildly different emotions? It can’t be the situation since the situation you are in is the SAME. What other factor could be involved?
Most people come into treatment because they are feeling “bad” and want to change the way they feel. To understand what CBT is, the first thing to figure out is where feelings come from. After all, how can you set out to change your feelings if you don’t know how they are created.
What research has found is that while there may be some link between situations and feelings, it’s actually not very strong. The stronger link to feelings is our thoughts. Your friend is thinking about how his team just won the game and he can’t wait to rub it in at school tomorrow. You are thinking about how the US deserved to win and how they got cheated of another victory. The way we think has a greater impact on how we feel than the situation itself.Since we know that thoughts impact feelings we can conclude that in order to change our feelings, we must take a closer look at our thoughts. The tricky thing about thoughts is that just because you think something doesn’t mean that it’s true. If you think about the world ending tomorrow, it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. The problem is, if you think it, and you believe it, you will surely feel the emotional repercussions. The goal in CBT is to help you think ACCURATELY about what is going on (not necessarily positively).
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most empirically supported modalities for treatment of a multitude of disorders including depression and anxiety. The most exciting part of CBT is that it makes sense! When working with a CBT therapist, your therapist should help you understand the “cognitive model” and through this you will gain an understanding of how you can become your own therapist. As CBT therapists, our goal is to help you become your own therapist. We want you to know what we know about where feelings come from and how to shift and accept them to make for a more fulfilling life.
This information has the power to be life changing; this is the secret to living a fulfilling life. Using the knowledge about thoughts and realizing that you DO have at least SOME control over your thinking (think about ice cream!) and your actions, you have the power to begin to change the way you feel.
Since we know that thoughts impact feelings we can conclude that in order to change our feelings, we must take a closer look at our thoughts. The tricky thing about thoughts is that just because you think something doesn’t mean that it’s true. If you think about the world ending tomorrow, it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. The problem is, if you think it, and you believe it, you will surely feel the emotional repercussions. The goal in CBT is to help you think ACCURATELY about what is going on (not necessarily positively).