ON Chiropractic
Cognitive-behavioural Therapy (CBT)
F
indings like these have led
researchers and practitioners alike
to find ways to enhance treatment
plans and outcomes by addressing the
psychological aspects of conditions
simultaneously with physical symptoms
and their root causes. One approach that
has risen in prominence in the last few
years is Cognitive-behavioural Therapy
(CBT). CBT is designed to provide
specific, intensive, problem-oriented
therapy to address negative thoughts and
allow patients to better cope with their
day-to-day lives.
A crucial element in the efficacy of
CBT is that it takes into account that an
individual’s distress is not solely the result
of an event or situation in their life. How
people feel in their daily lives is linked to
how they think about the situations they
encounter. Thinking negatively about a
situation, particularly one that a person
encounters regularly, has an impact on
how they experience that situation and,
ultimately, their mental health.
For example, when awoken by a
loud noise in the night, what our minds
attribute that noise to will help determine
our emotional reaction to the event. If our
minds tell us that the noise is an intruder,
we may respond with fear. If our minds
tell us that noise is the result of a teenaged
child sneaking in after curfew, we may
respond with anger or disappointment.
What springs to mind and helps determine
our emotional reaction is known as an
automatic thought. Automatic thoughts are
the result of our assumptions and beliefs.
In this case, CBT would help to modify
those inputs in order to minimize the
emergence of negative automatic thoughts,
allowi