The Advantages of Teen Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

20% of young people have a diagnosable mental health issue that impacts their daily activities.

Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, or substance use issues are common among teenagers.

Are you interested in learning about teen cognitive behavioral therapy for your child?

Let's look into everything you need to know about this specific form of therapy and how it can benefit teens.

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT for short, is a type of psychotherapy. It helps patients identify and change dysfunctional patterns. These patterns arise from the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

CBT is frequently used with adolescent patients. There are a wide range of issues it can be effective in treating. Examples are substance abuse, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety.

How Does CBT Work?

The main idea that CBT is based upon is that there is a link between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. It isn't uncommon for adolescents to develop distorted core beliefs about themselves. CBT can help confront and alter these distortions in self-perception.

When a teen has a belief about themselves it's common that they'll look for evidence to reinforce this distorted belief.

For example, say a teen thinks they're unworthy. They'll view the occurrences of their life through the lens of their unworthiness. This can further validate the idea that they are unworthy.

CBT can help modify this distorted core belief.

A psychotherapist using CBT assists the patient to identify these unhealthy thought patterns. The therapist will ask a series of questions. The patient is then asked to keep a record of their thoughts to help identify distorted thoughts.

Once dysfunctional thoughts are identified, CBT can help teach adolescents new ways of thinking.

The Benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents

CBT tends to be a short-term therapy approach. It helps adolescents interpret their environment in a non-destructive way. There are a number of benefits of CBT for teens, including:

• Reducing fears and phobias
• Improving communication skills
• Improving self-esteem
• Interrupting negative thought patterns that can lead to self-destructive or addictive behaviors
• Changing negative thought patterns
• Identifying positive responses to stress

CBT is known to produce the best outcomes for drug rehab and addiction treatment among teens. Biofeedback and dialectical behavior therapies are also commonly used in addiction treatment.

Teen Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Help

It's important to understand the way that thoughts, feelings, and behavior are interrelated. This can help people break negative cycles. Teen cognitive behavior therapy helps intervene in the way thoughts, feelings, and behavior are interacting.

Being a teenager can be overwhelming, confusing, and difficult. Cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques can help you or your child understand their own thoughts, feelings, and actions better. This puts them in more control of their own selves and lives.

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