Which Mental Health Disorders Can CBT Help?

One of the most common forms of psychotherapy is cognitive behavioural therapy, known as CBT. It's a popular approach for treating many mental health disorders and is often used in conjunction with other treatments. It can even benefit those who don't have diagnosed mental conditions, showing anyone how to tackle challenges healthily.

What is CBT?

CBT is a form of talk therapy conducted with a mental health counsellor. Generally, therapists will create a schedule including a limited number of sessions. It's not a perpetual treatment like standard talk therapy. Instead, mental health experts create a structured plan involving as many as 20 sessions lasting up to an hour each.

During these sessions, your therapist will work with you to change your habit of negative thinking. It's about making you more aware of negative thoughts surrounding challenging situations and how they can affect your mental health. The goal is to change your perspective, allowing you to approach those scenarios more clearly and helping you respond to them more effectively.

Cognitive behavioural therapy works well for many individuals because it quickly helps you identify and cope with your unique challenges. It's more structured, teaching you better ways to manage life's stresses, overcome emotional trauma, avoid mental health relapse and more.

What Can CBT Treat?

CBT is a good choice for many conditions. While everyone responds differently to this therapy, it can make a genuine difference for people suffering from various issues. In many cases, CBT alone can be a game-changer. In others, it's used to complement other forms of treatment, such as medication.

It's commonly utilized to treat depression and anxiety. Therapists also use it to address phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorders, substance abuse and more. It's even successful in managing conditions like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

There are very few risks with CBT. It can be uncomfortable at times and requires you to confront emotions that you want to put on the back burner. But once you make a breakthrough, CBT can improve your life in many ways.

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Understanding the Different Forms of Self-Harm

Self-harm is a serious issue that plagues teens and young adults more than people realize. An estimated 30 per cent of teen girls and 10 per cent of teen boys say they've harmed themselves intentionally.

But why do they do it?

Self-Harm Explored

Contrary to popular belief, this issue is not a form of mental illness. When patients see a self harm counsellor, they often talk about it as a coping mechanism. For many individuals, it's a way to reclaim control of one's life after dealing with mental issues like depression and anxiety.

It's a way to feel something after the numbness of those battles. It's associated with mental illness, but many view it as more of a compulsive coping mechanism than anything else.

Self-harm is usually a personal behaviour, but it can also become a way of bonding with others. Unfortunately, it can also result in more extreme actions and suicide attempts.

Types of Self Harm

The most common form of self-harm is cutting. When this occurs, individuals will use box blades, knives, and other sharp objects to cut their bodies. Cuts typically occur on the wrist or arm. Despite how it looks, it's not always a suicide attempt. These wounds are often deep enough to draw blood but superficial enough not to cut veins.

Beyond cutting, self-harm can include a myriad of behaviours.

Other forms include:

• Hitting or punching walls
• Picking scabs
• Piercing the skin repeatedly
• Snapping bands or cords
• Over-exercise
• Unsafe sex
• Picking fights
• Excessive drinking
• Experimenting with drugs
• Pulling hair

Identifying Signs of Self-Harm

When do you know that a child or loved one needs to seek help from a self harm counsellor? This behaviour is often well-hidden, so you must pay attention to spot the symptoms.

Self-inflicted injuries typically leave behind scars and marks. You might notice blood stains on clothes, unexplained markings, and other odd spots. Individuals will also go to great lengths to hide the results of their behaviours. That may involve wearing long-sleeve clothing when it's hot out, using objects to cover parts of their body, etc.

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