At this time, there are several therapeutic modalities used in the treatment of eating disorders. The most widely used are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), family based therapy (FBT), Interpersonal therapy (IPT) and cognitive remediation therapy (CMT). Other therapies also used art, psychodrama and occupational and recreational therapies. Some of these therapies can be used on an individual or group basis. Your therapist will choose the right therapy or combination of therapies for you.
In CBT, the goal of the therapy is to help you become more cognizant of how emotions and beliefs affect your actions. In CBT, the patient works with the therapist to identify belief systems that perpetuate the targeted behavior. CBT is an active therapy because it asks the patient to examine the thoughts that occur in conjunction with situations. This ability will help elucidate underlying or core beliefs.
Core beliefs are thought to develop early in life and can center around feelings of worth. This may be expressed through sense of adequacy, imperfection, being lovable and accepted, or intelligence, Beliefs are also based on life experience.
If you were told that you have good visual-spatial skills, you probably will be more likely to try to read maps, give directions and go new places. Successes will serve to reinforce this belief. It will be easier to discount negative experiences because of your belief in your abilities. Someone who was not cultivated in such a manner may have more difficulty if they attempted to go places and got lost. A negative belief may be internalized given multiple failed experiences, temperament and outside influences.
While we may not know our core beliefs automatically, paying attention to the themes/refrains in our self-talk, journaling, and interactions with others will help reveal them. Working though CBT will also allow the examination of our pattern of thinking which can be self defeating. These patterns, called cognitive distortions will be discussed shortly.
I welcome you to the discussion of CBT and I wish you a pleasant week!
Peace be with you.
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