Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:

What is it?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a structured, goal-oriented type of talk therapy. It can help manage mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety, and emotional concerns, such as coping with grief or stress. CBT can also help manage non-psychological health conditions, such as insomnia and chronic pain.

How does it work?

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an evidence-based treatment that’s grounded in theory and skill-based dialogue (conversations). It provides a supportive, nonjudgmental and safe environment that allows you to talk openly with a mental health professional who’s objective and specially trained to help you with the issues you’re having.

Cognitive behavioral therapy usually takes place over a limited number of sessions (typically five to 20). You shouldn’t expect results immediately. CBT usually takes time and sometimes involves uncomfortable work. Think of your therapist as a partner working with you through a process. If you keep working together toward the goals you’ve set, you’ll be able to mark your progress over time¹.

What is the efficacy?

Method: In this quasi-experimental study, 32 female students with PMS who were majoring in nursing and midwifery and residing in the dormitory were selected using the convenience sampling method and were assigned to experimental and control groups. The Standardized Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool was used as the research tool. Eight sessions of cognitive-behavioral group therapy were held for the students

Results: There was a significant difference in psychological symptoms before and after cognitive-behavioral therapy (p=0.012). Furthermore, cognitive-behavioral therapy was effective on social interferences caused by PMS symptoms (p=0.012).

Conclusion: Group cognitive-behavioral therapy effectively alleviates PMS symptoms in female college students².

Side Effects:

With some forms of CBT, such as exposure therapy, you may need to face situations you'd rather avoid, such as airplanes if you have a fear of flying. This can lead to short-term stress or anxiety.

There is hardly any scientific research on the possible side effects of psychotherapy³.

References

1. American Psychological Association. What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? [Internet]. Washington (DC): American Psychological Association; [cited 2025 Apr 23]. Available from: https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/cognitive-behavioral

2. Maddineshat M, Keyvanloo S, Lashkardoost H, Arki M, Tabatabaeichehr M. Effectiveness of group cognitive-behavioral therapy on symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Iran J Psychiatry. 2016;11(1):30–36.

3. InformedHealth.org. In brief: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) [Internet]. Cologne (DE): Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2015 [cited 2025 Apr 23]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279297/