Cognitive therapy is a psychological treatment that is effective in dealing behavioral and emotional problems.
This therapy assumes what type of emotions the person is experiencing and the intensity of those emotions.
Cognitive therapy will also be called as a psychological treatment of thoughts.
Cognitive therapy helps the person who is depressed to recognize and differentiate the critical and minor problems of life.
Cognitive therapy also helps in identifying the negative ways of thinking and developing the tendency to think in a realistic manner. It aids the person to develop positive attitude, create positive goals, and make positive self-assessment.
Cognitive therapy for depression:
Depression is a state of mind that can be caused by over negative interpretations. Also, self-debasing thoughts will lead to negative emotions of depression.
The first question now arises is how do you know if you are depressed. There are certain things that will make you identify that you are depressed.
If you are not enjoying the things you usually do that makes you happy, if you are feeling sad for more than two weeks, if you cannot concentrate on anything, cannot sleep all night, feel tired all the time, eat less than usual, if you are getting feelings of suicide, etc., you should consult your doctor immediately, as these are some symptoms of depression.
If you are depressed, first counseling will be done to address the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, the causes of depression, and to ease that problem of depression. After that, cognitive therapy will be done in order to develop positive thinking. Then, behavioral therapy will be given to develop coping skills or interpersonal therapy will be required in solving relationship problems.
Although this seems like different therapies are used, but all these interventions are a part of cognitive therapy only. Some physicians call it as a cognitive-behavioral therapy and some as cognitive therapy, but in practice both cognitive and behavioral therapies are used to treat depressed patients.
For example, George is not selected in interview. In this, the activating factor is that he is failed to select. He feels he must have selected or that he is worthless. The consequence of this is George is depressed.
In the above example, first in the counseling, the therapist will work on irrational beliefs of George. Then, the therapist makes the client understand that there is no rule that only worthy persons will get select in the interview or that not selecting in the interview is worthless.
This explanation may cause the client to feel disappointed, but not depressed. Also, the therapist discusses with the client about his negatives in order to develop coping skills.
Cognitive therapy often uses to treat psychological diseases like depression, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, post traumatic stress disorders, etc.
