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By Mayo Clinic staffCognitive behavioral therapy may not cure your condition or make an unpleasant situation go away. But overall, it's an effective treatment. It can give you the power to cope with your situation in a healthy way and to feel better about yourself and your life.
Getting the most out of cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy isn't effective for everyone. But you can take steps to get the most out of your therapy and help make it a success, including:
- Approach therapy as a partnership. Therapy is most effective when you're an active participant and share in decision making. Make sure you and your therapist agree about the major issues and how to tackle them. Together, you can set goals and gauge progress over time.
- Be open and honest. Success with psychotherapy depends on your willingness to share your thoughts, feelings and experiences, and on being open to new insights and ways of doing things. If you're reluctant to talk about certain things because of painful emotions, embarrassment or fears about your therapist's reaction, let your therapist know about your reservations.
- Stick to your treatment plan. If you feel down or lack motivation, it may be tempting to skip psychotherapy sessions. Doing so can disrupt your progress. Attend all sessions and give some thought to what you want to discuss.
- Don't expect instant results. Working on emotional issues can be painful and often requires hard work. It's not uncommon to feel worse during the initial part of therapy as you begin to confront past and current conflicts. You may need several sessions before you begin to see improvement.
- Do your homework between sessions. If your therapist asks you to read, journal or do other activities outside of your regular therapy sessions, follow through. Doing these homework assignments is important because they help you apply what you've learned in the psychotherapy sessions.
- If psychotherapy isn't helping, talk to your therapist. If you don't feel that you're benefiting from therapy after several sessions, talk to your therapist about it. You and your therapist may decide to make some changes or try a different approach.
References
- Gafford J, et al. Psychological treatment of psychiatric disorders. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 15, 2010.
- Epp A, et al. Applications of individual cognitive-behavioral therapy to specific disorders: Efficacy and indications. In: Gabbard GO. Textbook of Psychotherapeutic Treatments. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2009. http://www.psychiatryonline.com/content.aspx?aID=369318&searchStr=cognitive-behavioral#searchTerm. Accessed July 15, 2010.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy. National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists. http://www.nacbt.org/whatiscbt.htm. Accessed July 15, 2010.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy, National Alliance on Mental Illness. http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_Treatments_and_Supports&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7952. Accessed July 15, 2010.
- Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Understanding psychotherapy for adults. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2010.
- Let's talk facts about psychotherapy. Healthyminds.org. http://www.healthyminds.org/Document-Library/Brochure-Library/Lets-Talk-Facts-Psychotherapy.aspx. Accessed July 16, 2010.
- Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with major depressive disorder. 2nd. ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association. http://www.psychiatryonline.com/popup.aspx?aID=49371&print=yes. Accessed July 15, 2010.
- Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Cognitive behavioral therapy. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2009.
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