Today, mental health professionals often rely on a treatment option called cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT. What is CBT? The therapy takes a practical approach to behavioral change and goal-setting. It does so, in part, by helping teens spot problematic ways of thinking, reacting, and behaving. It also helps your teen develop supportive alternatives in each of these areas. Within this broad description, a CBT program for mental health offers many specific potential benefits. Knowledge of these benefits can help guide you to appropriate treatment resources.
Benefits of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
#1: Improved Rational Thinking
Teens affected by mental health issues tend to suffer from cognitive distortions. Generally speaking, this term describes thoughts and emotions that don’t match up with reality. Such thoughts and emotions are often automatic and go unchallenged. As a result, they can worsen the symptoms of mental illness and support harmful behaviors.
In CBT, teens learn how to challenge cognitive distortions. They also learn how to replace those distortions with a more accurate picture of reality. These improvements in rational thinking can make it easier to manage the symptoms of mental illness.
#2: Greater Self-Esteem
Self-esteem issues are common among teenagers. Such issues can have a negative impact on important factors that include your teen’s:
- Level of self-confidence
- Sense of personal identity
- Feelings of belonging
- Belief in personal ability or competence
Problems in any of these areas can potentially reinforce the effects of mental illness. By focusing on practical actions and problem-solving in CBT, your teenager can begin to overcome them.
#3: Anger Management
Poor anger management skills are also an issue for large numbers of teens. Uncontrolled, angry outbursts can greatly impair the ability to communicate. As a result, they can mask a wide range of underlying emotional concerns. Teenagers may be especially susceptible to this kind of behavioral pattern. In CBT, teens learn how to address the root causes of their emotional distress. In turn, they can learn how to channel emotions in much more effective ways.
#4: CBT Can Help Build Hope
Hope is often in short supply for people affected by mental illness. This is unfortunate since CBT and other effective treatments are available. How can CBT help foster hope? By showing teens that they can change damaging thoughts and behaviors. What once seemed like a permanent obstacle to recovery can now be viewed merely as a problem to overcome. This change in perspective is perhaps one of the greatest CBT benefits.
#5: Improved Coping Skills
Coping skills are essential to anyone recovering from mental illness. These skills make it possible for teenagers to:
- Face everyday situations in health-supporting ways
- Navigate tricky situations that could trigger mental illness symptoms
- Avoid relapses of such symptoms and keep their recovery going
Among other things, CBT focuses on improving your teen’s coping abilities. Such abilities apply to daily life, not just the controlled environment of a treatment center. In this way, time spent in CBT can have a long-term positive effect.
Learn More About the Benefits of CBT at Imagine Fort Collins
What is CBT? It’s a time-tested tool for real-world change in teens and adults affected by mental illness. At Imagine Fort Collins, we understand the many benefits of cognitive-behavioral therapy. That’s why we include this approach as a primary option for mental health and addiction treatment.
Imagine Fort Collins’ CBT program is specifically designed with teenagers in mind. With our support, your child can develop crucial skills that help bring successful management of mental illness within reach. Call us today at 888.291.2309 to learn more about our program. You can also contact the Imagine Fort Collins team through our online message form.