Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on thought patterns that are maladaptive and the false beliefs that underlie such thinking. For example, a person who is depressed may have the belief, "I'm worthless," and a person with a phobia may have the belief, "I am in danger." While the person in distress likely holds such beliefs with great conviction, with a therapist's help, the individual is encouraged to view such beliefs as hypotheses rather than facts and to test out such beliefs by running experiments.
Furthermore, those in distress are encouraged to monitor and log thoughts that pop into their minds (called "automatic thoughts") in order to enable them to determine what patterns of biases in thinking may exist and to develop more adaptive alternatives to their thoughts.
Patients who experience persistent panic attacks are encouraged to test out beliefs they have related to such attacks, such as specific fears related to bodily sensations, and to develop realistic responses to such beliefs. Patients who experience obsessions and compulsions are guided to expose themselves to what they fear and beliefs surrounding their fears are identified and modified. The same is true for people with phobias, including phobias of animals or phobias of evaluation by others (termed Social Phobia).
For more information on Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy:
www.nacbt.org/whatiscbt.htm
www.mayoclinic.com/health/cognitive-behavioral-therapy/MY00194
For more information on Mental Health Issues:
www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/index.shtml
