Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in the United States. Although effective treatments are available, such as the SSRIs and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), it is estimated that in about 40% of patients, anxiety disorders are partially or completely resistant to first-line treatment.

Depression has long been recognized as a primary concern for health care providers. Many approaches to treating depression have been developed, ranging from medications, to long-term psychotherapy, to shorter, more structured cognitive-behavioral treatments--all of which help some of the patients, some of the time, to some extent.

CBT is a comprehensive system of therapy that builds on core therapeutic values by using a wide range of reliable methods to produce cognitive and behavioral change.

While social anxiety disorder (SAD) may cause observable signs of anxiety and social awkwardness in some, many others suffer silently. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can be helpful for most patients with SAD, with alternative therapies such as psychodynamic therapy and interpersonal therapy filling the gaps.

Patients with OCD generally respond best to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). At the core of the behavior therapy program is a technique known as exposure and ritual prevention (ERP).

New ways to address medication adherence problems in patients with schizophrenia offer the hope of better treatment outcomes. Two new and promising approaches for individuals with schizophrenia are the use of environmental supports and cognitive adaptation training and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for children with anxiety disorders may be especially effective when the family is included in treatment.

This article examines the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy for psychosis, the evidence for its use, and the implications for practicing psychiatrists given the short-comings of pharmacologic therapy.

Diagnosis of the two main major eating disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, can be difficult because of denial of symptomatology by the patients and problems with some of the diagnostic criteria. Although CBT has been the most effective, there are no treatments available that can guarantee a cure for either disorder. Medication is only a helpful adjunct to the treatment of anorexia, while many controlled studies that show antidepressant medications are effective in reducing binge/purge behavior in bulimia.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can be tailored for use with children who have experienced sexual abuse in order to relieve symptoms of PTSD.

Evidence is growing that trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) is an effective treatment for sexually abused children, including those who have experienced multiple other traumatic events. This article reviews the research that has examined treatments for sexually abused children and suggests future research priorities in this regard.

The distress and functional impairment associated with PTSD may make it difficult for IPV victims to benefit from interventions to increase their safety and reduce their exposure to violence. Empirically supported PTSD treatments include pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Incorporating these treatments into interventions to improve victims' safety and reduce exposure to violence may improve their effectiveness in protecting women from IPV.

Children can now play a more active role in the treatment of their disorders. Using skills and information taught throughout the three treatment phases of cognitive-behavioral therapy (education, application and prevention relapse), they can be taught to understand and address the very fears that cause their disability.

Combination treatment with both a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy may be more effective than either treatment alone for this debilitating and often chronic disorder.

Despite the development of better-tolerated antidepressants and more effective applications of nondrug modalities like cognitive-behavioral therapy, depressive disorders are often chronic or recurrent. The researchers point out that there has been relatively little evaluation of chronic depression, with most studies addressing short-term treatment of acute episodes.

Panic disorder is a prevalent, debilitating illness associated with high utilization of multiple medical services, poor quality of life and a high incidence of suicide. Short-term efficacy of time-limited cognitive-behavioral and medication treatments has been demonstrated in many studies. Evidence for long-term efficacy of these treatments, however, is sparse and less convincing.