Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Children and Teens

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KEY POINTS

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps your child look at thoughts, beliefs, and actions, and understand which cause problems for your child. Then your child learns to change the unhealthy way of thinking and acting.
• Cognitive-behavior therapy is problem-focused and goal-oriented. It may be used in individual, family, group therapy, and computer-based settings.

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What is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)?

Your child's thoughts and reactions affect how your child feels about self and the things in your child’s life. Negative thoughts can lead to depression, anxiety, or behaviors that cause problems with relationships, school, or work. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps change how your child thinks and reacts. CBT helps your child:

• Look at thoughts, beliefs, and actions, and understand which cause problems for your child. Your child then learns to replace these thoughts and beliefs with healthy ones. This is the cognitive, or thinking, part of CBT.
• Face challenges in life calmly, and then take actions that are likely to have good results. This is the behavioral, or action, part of CBT.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is:

• Goal-oriented. It helps your child set goals, plan ways to achieve those goals, and check progress.
• Problem-focused. The therapist works with your child to identify problems and what exactly needs to change.
• Short-term: Depending on your child’s problem and how hard your child works to change thoughts and behaviors, goals can often be achieved in less than 20 sessions.
• Active. CB therapists ask questions and actively listen to your child. The therapist may give your child assignments to be completed between sessions. Parents may also be asked to be involved in the therapy.

When is it used?

CBT can help with:

• Aggressive behavior
• Anxiety or phobias
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Depression or grief
• Drug and alcohol use disorder
• Eating disorders
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Pain or long-term illness
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Problems with relationships, family, work, and school

What happens during a typical therapy session?

The therapist will ask what problem you and your child would like to work on during therapy. For example, does your child want to stop being bullied by peers? Get along better with family members? Feel better about self?

Once the therapist knows your child’s goals, therapy will focus on how your child thinks and what does.

In CBT, your child becomes aware of thoughts that are false or hurtful. These thoughts are called distorted thinking because they are not based on what is really true. Your child may have learned to think this way from things that happened when your child was very young or from recent experiences. The thoughts pop into your child’s mind automatically.

In therapy, your child learns to be aware of these distorted thoughts. Your child learns to replace them with healthy and true thoughts. For example, your child may think that everybody hates him or her. Your child feels sad and bad when thinking this thought. During CBT, your child learns to change or argue with this thought. Your child may be reminded of at least 4 friends. After thinking this new thought, your child might feel more hopeful and feel better about self.

Your child may also learn to:

• Stop bad habits
• Express thoughts and feelings openly and say no when someone asks your child to do something that your child does not want to do
• Improve how your child manages stress

How do I find a therapist?

Psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers provide CBT. CBT is used in individual, family, and group therapy settings.

Ask questions and get referrals from people you know and trust. You could check with:

• Your healthcare provider, teachers, or school counselors
• Friends or family members who have been in therapy
• Your health insurance company
• Your employee assistance program (EAP) at work
• Local mental health or human service agencies
• Professional associations of psychologists, psychiatrists, or counselors