Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
With depression currently affecting a staggering 5% of the world’s population, there is an ever-increasing need to help those who suffer from it to overcome its destructive grip.
In the field of alternative therapies, ibogaine treatment for depression has shown significant promise in interrupting cycles of negative, self-defeating, or cyclical thoughts.
However, ibogaine treatment such as we provide at Ibogaine Treatment UK (Iboga Root Sanctuary) becomes far more effective when combined with other therapeutic methods in a sustained aftercare plan.
One such conventional therapy method is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a therapeutic approach that focuses on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy recognizes that our thoughts influence our emotions and actions, and aims to identify and modify negative or distorted thinking patterns. But how exactly does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy work?
The Core Principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Restructuring: CBT is based on the premise that our negative thoughts or “cognitions” about an event are the actual cause of our self-defeating emotions. It asserts that it is not the actual event itself, but our perception of it that results in mood changes. By challenging irrational or negative thoughts and examining the evidence behind them, we can replace these thoughts with more realistic ones, reframing our perspectives.
Behavioral Activation: Despite depression greatly affecting motivation, individuals are encouraged to engage in positive and rewarding activities to counteract its effects. Through repetition and association, these activities help create newer, more positive routines.
Skills Building: CBT provides individuals with a toolkit of practical skills and adaptive coping strategies. These skills include untwisting negative thinking, managing stress, problem-solving, assertiveness, and relaxation techniques.
The Therapeutic Process
While treatment plans in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vary from person to person, they generally follow this structure:
Assessment: The therapist collaborates with the patient to learn about their life story, symptoms, behaviors, and thoughts related to their depression. This information is used to establish treatment goals and develop a personalized treatment plan.
Goal Setting: Together, the patient and therapist discuss and set specific and realistic goals focused on desired changes in emotional responses, behaviors, and thoughts.
Cognitive Restructuring: The therapist addresses pivotal areas of the patient’s life, guiding them to identify negative thinking patterns as they occur on a daily basis. They coach the patient on evidence-based reasoning techniques, fostering the development of more adaptive thoughts.
Behavioral Activation: The therapist helps the patient identify activities that they may have withdrawn from due to depression. By reintroducing these activities and helping the patient develop new ones, they can reconnect with their authentic self, step by step.
Skills Training: Through learning adaptive skills and emotional management techniques, patients become empowered to sustain progress outside therapy sessions and become their own therapists on a daily basis.
Homework Assignments: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy values focused journaling and written exercises to untwist cognitive distortions caused by the filter of depression. Homework assignments, as set by the therapist, give the patient greater practice, empowerment, and agency over their lives and emotions.
Effectiveness in Treating Depression
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has proven to be very efficient in treating most kinds of depression.
It is often used as a first-line treatment, either on its own, in conjunction with medication, or as part of a comprehensive aftercare plan following an ibogaine treatment.
When paired with ibogaine treatment and other sustained holistic practices such as yoga, mindfulness, bodywork, breathwork, or kambo treatment, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has a greater chance of reducing depressive symptoms and preventing relapses into depression.
If you are experiencing depression, contact us and embark on a transformative journey toward healing and recovery. Remember, with the right support and tools, there is hope for a brighter tomorrow.
