Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) At Bedrock Recovery Center

During your initial assessment shortly after arriving at Bedrock, your care team will develop a personalized treatment plan based on your unique needs and goals in recovery. This plan will include various evidence-based and holistic therapy options, one of the most popular of which is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

CBT is a psychological treatment that has been found effective in treating a range of mental health disorders, substance use disorders, and eating disorders. This goal-oriented psychotherapy works by encouraging and supporting you to investigate your own thoughts and beliefs in order to change unwanted behaviors.

At Bedrock, CBT will be just one aspect of your individualized treatment plan that takes a multidisciplinary approach to lasting recovery and well-being.

The Core Principles Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

The core principles of CBT are based on treating the underlying causes of mental health issues or addiction. The principles form a foundation for understanding the connection between thoughts and behaviors, and how thoughts and behaviors can be changed.

CBT’s three core principles are:

• Psychological problems are based, in part, on unhelpful ways of thinking.
• Psychological problems are based, in part, on learned patterns of negative behavior.
• People with mental health issues can learn healthy coping skills for a reduction in symptoms and a happier life.

At Bedrock, your therapist will use these core principles to help you address any negative beliefs through cognitive restructuring, leading to healthy choices.

Cognitive Restructuring

The main purpose of cognitive restructuring is to identify and change negative thought patterns.

The steps of cognitive restructuring may include:

• Writing down a sentence describing a problematic situation in your life.
• Identifying the primary upsetting feelings you have regarding the situation.
• Identifying your thoughts about the situation that are underlying these feelings.
• Evaluating the accuracy of each thought using tools that encourage objectivity.
• Making a decision about whether the thoughts are accurate or not.
• Taking action based on your decision.

In this way, the process of cognitive restructuring forms the basis for behavior modification.

Behavior Modification

Behavior modification can help you experience what you want in life, rather than feeling stuck in problematic emotions and behaviors. This aspect of CBT helps you alter your actions, leading to a specific outcome.

The main goal of behavior modification is to replace undesirable behaviors with more desirable ones. This includes undesirable behaviors related to addiction and other mental health disorders individually, as well as co-occurring disorders.

CBT Tools And Techniques

When you first meet with your CBT therapist at BRC, you will likely share both general and specific information about your situation so that your therapist can focus on helping meet all of your treatment needs and goals, such as learning healthy coping skills and communication skills. CBT offers various tools and techniques for reaching your recovery goals.

Cognitive Journaling

Cognitive journaling is one technique used to identify your unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, which aren’t always apparent. This practice involves writing about situations where you feel triggered, or experience fear, anxiety, cravings, or other symptoms.

Guided Discovery

In guided discovery, your therapist will ask open-ended questions to help you consider your own thought process and how it impacts your daily life. Insight into how you arrive at your conclusions can help you determine if that process is working for or against you.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness and relaxation strategies are other useful tools that can help with negative thinking and unwanted behaviors, allowing you space to pause and reflect rather than simply react.

Applications For Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CBT is an evidence-based therapy used through Bedrock Recovery Center’s residential programs to treat a variety of disorders.

Some of the most common applications for CBT include treatment for:

• substance use disorders
• mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder and depression
• anxiety disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder
• stress-related disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Substance Use Disorders

When CBT is used for addiction treatment, the goal is often to encourage you to examine any feelings of self-doubt, self-loathing, and other negative emotions that contribute to your substance use.

For example, your therapist may encourage you to ask yourself whether these thoughts are useful or even true, and make suggestions for shifting these thoughts into a more proactive way of thinking.

Together, you and your therapist will use cognitive restructuring and develop coping mechanisms to work through the initial stages of recovery and promote relapse prevention.

CBT at Bedrock is combined with other therapeutic interventions, such as peer support groups and mindfulness exercises, to increase its efficacy.

Mood Disorders

Cognitive behavioral therapy is also an effective treatment for mood disorders, including bipolar disorder and depression.

Your CBT therapist will help you understand the connection between your behaviors, thoughts, and feelings, which isn’t always apparent, enabling you to change negative beliefs and improve problem-solving skills.

As a treatment option for mood disorders, CBT is also effective in promoting positive self-esteem.

Anxiety Disorders

When CBT is used to address anxiety disorders at Bedrock, it is often combined with exposure interventions or other approaches.

Anxiety disorders, like generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder, are often marked by fear and avoidance. CBT can help you slowly and safely face situations and experiences that frighten you or cause you anxiety, changing your perspective of these experiences and thus reducing related symptoms.

Evidence For The Efficacy Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Peer-reviewed research provides strong evidence that CBT is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders, stress-related disorders, mood disorders, and substance abuse.

For example, an analysis of 41 studies found that CBT helped to improve the symptoms of anxiety, OCD, and PTSD.

Several studies compared CBT to other treatment modalities and found that it was consistently more effective, even after a six-month and 12-month follow-up.

CBT also has a high level of observed support for the treatment of substance use disorders and has been proven to improve self-control, teach coping mechanisms, and avoid triggers.

Learn More About Treatment At BRC

Contact our team today if you want to learn more about mental health and addiction treatment at Bedrock Recovery Center.