Talk therapy can be very beneficial for people with substance use disorders or a co-occurring mental illness. In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT, the goal is to help the patient understand how their thoughts impact their behaviors. There are three pillars of CBT that help structure the sessions. These pillars are identification, recognition, and management.
Identification
The first pillar of CBT is identification. Through the identification of your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, you will be able to become a better person during your recovery. These identifiable features make up a large part of who you are. These things aren’t always positive, so self-awareness is key. Your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors can easily become negative. This isn’t enjoyable for anyone. Through CBT, you will be able to identify what is and is not working for you during your recovery. Without identification, you have nothing.
Recognition
The second pillar of CBT is recognition. Recognition takes identification to the next level. The contrast between these two steps is that identification is saying you have an issue, while recognition is when you realize in the moment that you are having a negative thought, emotion, or behavior. Identification is knowing you have an issue in general; recognition is knowing you have an issue in the moment. In the recognition stage, you stop the negative thought, emotion, or behavior in its tracks. You make an active change to stop the thought, emotion, or behavior. You will then work on replacing the negative thought, emotion, or behavior with more positive ones.
Management
The third pillar of CBT is management. In this stage, you use the skills you have learned to help your current situation. By managing your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in the moment, you can use your new tools to make an impact in your daily life. You can also practice management skills even when there is not a current issue with your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. You want to set good habits at the ground floor so that when you are having a negative thought, emotion, or behavior, you are able to correct it in the moment because you know what to do. It becomes a part of your routine.
Arbor Behavioral Healthcare is here to help you create new patterns through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. We can help you. Call today at (844) 413-2690. We can’t wait to help you today!