It is normal for youths to experience periods of depressed mood as they navigate childhood and adolescence.
Find a CBT Therapist
Search through our directory of local clinicians.
Related Items
Be sure to check the resources below.
Select a Category
- General Information
- Populations
- Therapeutic Types
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Applied Behavior Analysis
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy
- Exposure and Response Prevention (Exposure Therapy)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
- In-Patient Treatment
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Mindfulness
- Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
- Premarital Therapy
- Problem Solving Therapy
- Prolonged Exposure
- Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
- Residential Behavior Treatment
- Systematic Desensitization
- Virtual Reality Therapy
- Topics
- Addiction (Alcohol / Drugs / Nicotine / etc.)
- Adjustment Disorders
- Aging
- Anger and Aggression
- Anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder / Panic / Phobias / Worry / etc.)
- Assertiveness & Social Skills
- Assessment
- Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Bipolar Disorder
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) & Body Image
- Bullying
- Depression
- Disruptive Behaviors (Conduct Disorder / Oppositional Defiant Disorder / etc.)
- Divorce/Separation
- Eating Disorders (Anorexia / Bulimia / etc.)
- Elimination Disorders (Bed-Wetting / etc.)
- Financial Stress and Employment Issues
- Grief and Bereavement
- Health Conditions (Cancer / Cardiac Rehabilitation / Diabetes / etc.)
- Hoarding
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Pain/Pain Management
- Parenting
- Personality Disorders (Borderline Personality Disorder / Narcissism / etc.)
- Religion and Spirituality
- Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders
- Self-Harm and Self Injurious Behavior
- Sexual Dysfunction
- Sleep Disorders (Insomnia / etc.)
- Suicide
- Tic Disorders and Tourette Syndrome
- Trauma (PTSD / Child Abuse / Intimate Partner Violence / etc.)
- Trichotillomania & Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (Hair Pulling / Skin Picking / etc.)
What is Cognitive Behavior Therapy?
Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy are types of treatment that are based firmly on research findings. These approaches aid people in achieving specific changes or goals.
Changes or goals might involve:
A way of acting: like smoking less or being more outgoing;
A way of feeling: like helping a person to be less scared, less depressed, or less anxious;
A way of thinking: like learning to problem-solve or get rid of self-defeating thoughts;
A way of dealing with physical or medical problems: like lessening back pain or helping a person stick to a doctor’s suggestions.
Behavior Therapists and Cognitive Behavior Therapists usually focus more on the current situation and its solution, rather than the past. They concentrate on a person’s views and beliefs about their life, not on personality traits. Behavior Therapists and Cognitive Behavior Therapists treat individuals, parents, children, couples, and families. Replacing ways of living that do not work well with ways of living that work, and giving people more control over their lives, are common goals of behavior and cognitive behavior therapy.
How to Get Help
If you are looking for help, either for yourself or someone else, you may be tempted to call someone who advertises in a local publication or who comes up from a search of the Internet. You may, or may not, find a competent therapist in this manner. It is wise to check on the credentials of a psychotherapist. It is expected that competent therapists hold advanced academic degrees. They should be listed as members of professional organizations, such as the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies or the American Psychological Association. Of course, they should be licensed to practice in your state. You can find competent specialists who are affiliated with local universities or mental health facilities or who are listed on the websites of professional organizations. You may, of course, visit our website (www.abct.org) and click on “Find a CBT Therapist”
The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) is an interdisciplinary organization committed to the advancement of a scientific approach to the understanding and amelioration of problems of the human condition. These aims are achieved through the investigation and application of behavioral, cognitive, and other evidence-based principles to assessment, prevention, and treatment.