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By Mayo Clinic staffCognitive behavioral therapy may not cure your condition or make an unpleasant situation go away. But overall, it's a highly effective treatment. It can give you the power to cope with your situation in a healthy way and to feel better about yourself and your life.
Benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you:
- Gain a better understanding of your condition or situation
- Identify and change behaviors or thoughts that negatively affect your life
- Explore relationships and experiences
- Find better ways to cope and solve problems
- Learn to set realistic goals for your life
- Feel better about yourself
- Reduce the likelihood of a relapse
Getting the most out of cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy isn't effective for everyone. But you can take steps to get the most out of your therapy and help make it a success, including:
- Approach therapy as a partnership. Cognitive behavioral therapy is most effective when you're an active participant and share in decision making. Make sure you and your therapist agree about the major issues and how to tackle them. Together, you can re-evaluate progress and goals over time.
- Be open and honest. Success with psychotherapy depends on your willingness to share your thoughts, feelings and experiences, and on being open to new insights and ways of doing things. If you're reluctant to talk about certain things because of painful emotions, embarrassment or fears about your therapist's reaction, let your therapist know.
- Stick to your treatment plan. If you feel down or lack motivation, it may be tempting to skip sessions. Doing so can disrupt your progress. Aim to attend all sessions and to give some thought to what you want to discuss. Tell your therapist if you have reservations about therapy.
- Don't expect instant results. Working on emotional issues can be painful and may require hard work. It's not uncommon to feel worse during the initial part of therapy as you begin to confront past and current conflicts. You may need several sessions before you begin to see improvement.
- Do your homework between sessions. If your therapist gives you work outside of your regular therapy sessions, be sure to do it. Doing these homework assignments is important because they help you apply what you've learned in the psychotherapy sessions.
- Make sure you feel comfortable with your therapist. Successful cognitive behavioral therapy depends on a productive and trustful relationship between you and a therapist. Talk to your therapist if any part of your therapy troubles you. If you're still uncomfortable, consider finding another therapist with whom you feel more at ease.
