Cognitive Therapy Orange County

What is Cognitive Therapy?

Cognitive therapy was originally developed by psychiatrist Aaron Beck, M.D. Dr. Beck discovered that people could recover from depression and anxiety problems more quickly once they could identify specific thoughts that accompanied uncomfortable feelings, like sadness, fearfulness, and hopelessness. Years of research has shown that people can learn to resolve immediate and long standing problems, as well as decrease negative feelings, by changing they way they think. Cognitive therapy is an holistic approach to improving people's lives.

How can Cognitive therapy help me?

We can all feel overwhelmed at times. Job stress, family or relationship problems, health concerns, losses and worries can make anyone struggle. Cognitive therapy can help you pinpoint problems and learn new ways to cope. Cognitive therapy is an educational and collaborative approach which can aid you to improve your outlook about yourself, people important to you and your future.

How do I know if I'm struggling?

Sometimes it is obvious to our loved ones. However, as individuals, it can be hard to know when something is wrong. Nearly fifty million Americans experience emotional or behavioral problems during the course of any given year. Most of us do not seek treatment for these problems. Partly because we do not recognize the symptoms. They can be hard to identify. One way to determine if you are distressed is to ask yourself some of the following questions:

• Do people who care about me say I'm not myself or recommend I get help?
• Do I feel sad or even hopeless most of the time?
• Am I anxious or worried about things that never used to bother me?
• Do I think about something or a situation over and over without any resolution?
• Am I irritated, mad, or angry with people or about things most of the time?
• Am I sleeping poorly; waking up several times, not falling asleep easily, or waking up much earlier than usual?
• Am I eating a lot more or a lot less than I usually do?
• Are activities that used to be enjoyable for me now boring, or have I just stopped doing them?
• Am I drinking or using drugs more or more often than I plan on?

While these questions are not a scientific test, answering yes to some/several of them may be a way to tell if you are feeling distressed or could benefit from cognitive therapy.

How long does Cognitive therapy take?

Generally, people greatly improve or resolve their problems within ten to twenty sessions. Most people experience some improvement in the way they feel after the first session, usually stating they feel more hopeful. Research indicates fifty percent of people feel markedly better 6 months after they first started treatment. Seventy-five percent of people feel much better about most things in their lives one year after beginning cognitive therapy.

The length of treatment depends on several factors:

• The relationship between the clinician and the client. A comfortable, trustworthy, and positive relationship is necessary and essential.
• Severity of the problems at the outset of treatment. Are problems more recent or have they been going on for a long time?
• The motivation and capacity of the patient to make changes.

How do I know if Cognitive therapy is working?

The above time line above should help you recognize changes in how you feel, think and act. Another way to tell is by using specific measurement tools. These are specific paper and pencil tests that you can take at the beginning and at various points during treatment. Another way is to ask your clinician about your progress. A competent clinician will be able to make this determination without bias.

What if Cognitive therapy is not working?

Cognitive therapy does not work for everyone. Just like some people do not respond to certain types of antibiotics, the same can be true of Cognitive therapy. It is important to understand that sometimes therapy can make people worse. If you feel worse after a few visits tell your clinician. It is very important that your clinician knows how you are responding. You and your clinician can do several things:

• Re-evaluate your treatment plan and make necessary adjustments.
• Make a possible referral to another clinician.
• Combine cognitive therapy and medication.

A negative response to Cognitive therapy does not mean you have no hope of feeling better. You and your clinician can discover what's best for you in a supportive environment.

What about medication?

Knowledge about brain function and biochemistry has expanded tremendously in the past several years. Many psychotropic medications work quite quickly and effectively. However, research on depression, anxiety and phobias indicates that most people improve as much with Cognitive therapy alone as they do with a combination of Cognitive therapy and medication.

Medication alone is usually effective only while the person takes it. Once medication is discontinued, relapse is common. This is especially true of anxiety disorders, like panic attacks and phobias. Also, medications have physiological side effects that some people find difficult to tolerate, like headaches, weight gain and loss of sexual interest.

Medication is important for certain mental disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe depressions and is quite helpful in stabilizing people with these problems.

If you are currently taking medication for depression, anxiety or other emotional problems, it is important to continue taking your prescription unless you have discussed discontinuation directly with your medical doctor. Medical doctors are the only professionals who can legally prescribe psychotropic medication. These are people with M.D. or O.D. after their name and include primary care doctors, OB-Gyn doctors and mental health specialists called psychiatrists.

The importance of taking medication regularly.

When medications do not work, sometimes it can be due to inconsistent use by skipping doses or forgetting. Medications prescribed by your medical doctor are only effective if used as directed. Identifying obstacles to taking medication precisely as directed by your medical doctor would be part of the focus of your participation in cognitive therapy treatment.