Cognitive Therapy

Cognitive therapy can be used to help lots of different psychological disorders and problems, and can be particularly useful for treating depression. It works by helping patients to identify and change dysfunctional thinking, or thinking that is detrimental to the happiness, physical and psychological health of the person in question. This involves several aspects which relate to different parts of the problem, including helping patients develop skills to aid in the modification of their existing beliefs, to identify distorted thinking, helping people to relate to others in different ways, and eventually changing behaviour.

Developed by the American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck, the approach concentrates on the way in which people perceive, interpret and attribute meaning in their daily lives, and how certain mindsets can be damaging to people’s happiness and lifestyles. This was a break away from the earlier psychodynamic model originally put forward by Freud, which had previously dominated the psychoanalytical field. It has since become one of the most popular and critically acclaimed forms of psychiatry, being the preferred form of therapy for thousands of people.

Beck’s initial focus was on depression, developing a list of negative ways of thinking that could instigate and prolong depression, which include magnification of negatives and minimisation of positives. He has also done research into anxiety disorders, which can be similar to depression in that they often revolve around a particular negative mindset that can be difficult to break out of. Cognitive therapy seeks to counteract this and help the patient to think positively.