According to the tenants of cognitive behavioral therapy, irrational thoughts lead to anxiety. Successful therapists practicing cognitive behavioral modification with anxious clients therefore ask them to identify the irrational thoughts that trigger their anxiety and therapist and client work together to examine and dispel these thoughts. The process is effective but time consuming as irrational thoughts are often very strong because they took years to form.
Personality has Three Parts
Proponents of cognitive behavioral therapy believe that personality is composed of three parts: thoughts, feelings and events and that these three components work together in a negative way to cause anxiety. Within this broader theory, therapists tailor an individual approach that is suited to each patients they see. Some patients, for example, respond well to direct exposure to the event causing anxiety, while others are simply too fearful for this approach to be effective.
Recognize the Activating Event
Therapists teach anxious patients to recognize the relationship between thoughts, feelings and events by using the ABC method. The "A" stands for activating event, the "B" for beliefs about the activating event, and the "C" for consequence. The activating event is the event that triggers a person's anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapists believe all events are neutral, with each person labeling the event as good or bad based on their own thoughts and past experiences. Going to a new school, for example, is perceived by some people as a positive event, but can cause anxiety for a person who has had bad experiences in school.
Examine the Belief
Because cognitive behavioral therapists believe that irrational beliefs lead to a person feeling anxious, they work with patients to identify the beliefs triggered by the activating event. Starting a new school triggers beliefs such as, "I'll fail" or "People will reject me," in an anxious person. Once the belief is identified, the therapist helps the patient determine if the belief is rational, or reality-based, versus irrational, or based on negative bad experiences and inaccurate facts.
Change the Consequence
Once the belief is identified as irrational, the therapist helps the client modify the old, dysfunctional belief. When the patient adopts a new more positive belief, anxiety -- which is the consequence -- wanes. Success with the cognitive behavioral method takes time and patience but has been well-established by studies such as the 1993 paper in the "Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology" establishing the cognitive behavioral therapy was equal to or better than two other well-established therapeutic approaches for the treatment of anxiety.
References
- Social Anxiety Institute; What is Comprehensive Cognitive -- Behavioral Therapy?; Thomas A. Richards, Ph.D.
- Stressgroup.com: ABC Worksheet (The ABCs of REBT)-Therapy and Counseling
- "Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology"; Efficacy of Applied Relaxation and Cognitive---Behavioral Therapy in the Treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder; T. D. Borkovec, et al.; August 1993
