Common Questions About Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Psychiatric Disorders.

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a time-limited, goal-oriented psychotherapy that has been extensively researched and has benefits in a number of psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, obsessive-compulsive and tic disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, and insomnia. CBT uses targeted strategies to help patients adopt more adaptive patterns of thinking and behaving, which leads to positive changes in emotions and decreased functional impairments. Strategies include identifying and challenging problematic thoughts and beliefs, scheduling pleasant activities to increase environmental reinforcement, and extended exposure to unpleasant thoughts, situations, or physiologic sensations to decrease avoidance and arousal associated with anxiety-eliciting stimuli. CBT can be helpful in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder by emphasizing safety, trust, control, esteem, and intimacy. Prolonged exposure therapy is a CBT technique that includes a variety of strategies, such as repeated recounting of the trauma and exposure to feared real-world situations. For attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, CBT focuses on establishing structures and routines, and clear rules and expectations within the home and classroom. Early intensive behavioral interventions should be initiated in children with autism before three years of age; therapy consists of 12 to 40 hours of intensive treatment per week, for at least one year. In many disorders, CBT can be used alone or in combination with medications. However, CBT requires a significant commitment from patients. Family physicians are well suited to provide collaborative care for patients with psychiatric disorders, in concert with cognitive behavior therapists.