What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Length Of Therapy

It is critical to note CBT is not an open-ended form of psychotherapy or other treatments for mental health. It is considered one of the most rapid forms with regards to the results it obtains. Although the exact numbers can vary slightly based on individual patients and their needs, the average number of formal sessions for an individual undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy is sixteen. Each session, on average, lasts about an hour or so. Of course, the sessions are designed to give the patient lasting tools and skills, often through the therapist's use of homework assignments. This is also why CBT can be so limited regarding formal sessions.

Inclusion Of Homework

The assignments a therapist can give their patient can be adapted based on the therapist's personal approach to CBT as well as the patient's needs and desires. Two popular general assignments, however, include the rating worksheet and fact or opinion checklist. The rating worksheet involves dividing a paper into six columns. The first column is for the distressing thought or situation, and the next column is for the rating of zero to one hundred percent of how much the thought causes anxiety, depression, or similar feelings.

The following two columns are for the evidence for and the evidence against the situation being described. After this information is written down, the patient should attempt to come up with an alternative thought or response, write it down in the next column, and then write down the level of anxiety they feel after that alternative thought using the percentage scale. The fact or opinion checklist is simply writing down the distressing thoughts, taking a step back to think about it, and determining whether it is a fact or just an opinion, and checking off the corresponding box.