How cognitive behavioral therapy works: features and benefits. On the Internet you can find a lot of advice on how to understand yourself, become happier and more successful. On the one hand, it is good that the knowledge of psychology has become accessible to many, but on the other hand, it is often fragmentary, unsystematic and creates a “mess in the head.” Sometimes it seems that some people look at psychology as Eric's correspondence with Berne. But we won’t “play games”; it’s not for nothing that CBT is considered one of the most structured and therefore effective methods of psychotherapy, and now I’ll tell you why. People usually associate their experiences with difficult situations, but in fact, negative emotions are largely to blame for our reactions to these situations. The situation is conditionally neutral and does not directly determine our feelings and actions. The determining factor is how we interpret it. For example, 3 people on Saturday morning look out the window, it’s raining outside: the first one thinks: “Oh, rain! I’ll dress warmly, go out for a walk and get some fresh air!” He feels inspired and goes for a walk. The second one thinks: “Hey, it’s raining!” You won't be able to go for a walk. Then I'll clean the house for now and read a book. Feels satisfied and goes to do household chores. The third thinks: “Well, I just wanted to go for a walk!” How are you going to walk in such disgusting weather now? I should have checked the weather forecast in advance. No matter what I plan, nothing always works out.” Feels angry, doesn’t get down to business, and the mood for the whole day is spoiled. The flow of these value judgments is considered to be automatic thoughts. But only emotions and behavior are realized. Usually we trust these thoughts and don’t even question them. But are they always true? They often become a source of painful emotions, inappropriate behavior, depression, anxiety disorders and other diseases. In CBT, we learn to check these automatic thoughts for realism, to find those moments when our thinking works against us in favor of our fears, stereotypes and limitations. Why do different people perceive the same situation differently? Because ideas about oneself and the world are formed from childhood and throughout life. These are the defining interpretations (deep beliefs) that we treat as the ultimate truth. We carry over our negative experiences for the rest of our lives. But is such categoricalness justified? For example, the 3rd person, who was upset because of thwarted plans, thought that he “always can’t do anything.” Most likely, one of his deepest beliefs is “I am not capable of anything” and he interprets the situation through the prism of this belief. Focuses only on information that corresponds to this belief and does not pay attention to information that contradicts it. For example, that the weather can be unpredictable, that even weather forecasters are sometimes surprised. Or that the rain may be short-lived. Beliefs are certain ideas, not always realistic, that more often hinder and limit than help, and once they are acquired, then they can be changed. CBT uses a number of techniques that help change thoughts and beliefs to more realistic and functional ones and, as a result, the emotional state changes, and therefore behavior. The psychotherapist helps to decompose the situation into its components, determine what exactly served as the basis for anxiety, depression, inadequate perception of events, and find a way out of the impasse. The psychotherapist determines the strategy and tactics of work in each individual case, based on specific problems, goals of therapy and characteristics of perception client. The work is structured in two directions: working with problems, working with cognitions (thinking, perception). What distinguishes CBT from other types of therapy and what are the advantages of this approach: Partnership, not mentoring relationship between the therapist and the client. CBT is a team work in which you will be together.