Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Immediate action is preferred in order to change behavior and thoughts sooner rather than later.

Au contraire to the psychodynamic approach, behavioral and cognitive therapies focus on the observable symptoms a client displays, rather than on the supposedly underlying issues that cause certain symptoms.

Let’s say when you get gloomy, you start to eat too much. A psychodynamic therapist would try and find out why you start eating too much when you get gloomy. This therapist would try to find the root cause of your problem and make you stop reaching for food by making you fully aware of your underlying issues. If you know and understand your unconscious desire to raid the fridge, then you can consciously stop yourself in your tracks.

A cognitive behavioral therapist would not spend time and effort on finding the deeper reasons why, they would simply try and stop you in your tracks before raiding the fridge. They would try to create a new and better environment for you in order for you to be able to adopt healthier habits instead.

One common feature of both behavioral and cognitive therapies is the use of metrics — measuring and recording the data by writing it down is an integral part of the process. The data will then show if the therapy is working or not.