# CBT ?



## CaseyL (Jul 23, 2001)

Just curious - what is the basis behind CBT? How does it work?


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## BBolen Ph.D (Nov 9, 2000)

Cognitive-behavioral therapy basically entails changing thoughts and behaviors to that you feel better. The way that our brain processes information causes us to sometimes distort reality. These distortions, also called irrational thoughts, affect how we feel. For example, worrying about something, e.g. "What if that were to happen?" causes us to react physically and emotionally almost as if we were actually dealing with that bad thing. Challenging and changing unhealthy thinking patterns can result in symptom relief. Learning new behaviors, e.g. assertiveness, social skills, relaxation, also can bring about symptom reduction.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

CaseyL, here is some info for you. CBT for the most part is using your concious minds to make changes in how you think and deal with IBS. http://ibscrohns.about.com/cs/cognitivethe...rms=cbt+and+ibs HT, uses the subconcious mind on IBS. http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/hypnosis.htm Don't let either term fool you, its a misconception that either of them have some stigma to there names at all. Both are excepted and practiced medical treatments and both have been shown to be effective in IBS. Hypnotherapy just has more research behind it for IBS and works differently then CBT. Sometimes a therapist will also use both. An important aspect of this is the Practioner has to have experience in treating IBS if thats what your going for, hopefully for a minimum of two years at least.Hope this helps.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

There you have it Casey from the expert. LOL We must have been responding at the same time Dr Bolen. Hope your well.


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## CaseyL (Jul 23, 2001)

Thank you both for your reply. I am seeing a therapist for depression related to infertility issues. This is his specialty. What you described sounds like what we are working on right now with regards to infertility; we just never used that term. During our first session he said he could help me with the IBS issues too. I guess that way of thinking can be applied to both situations. The name, hypnotherapy, makes me nervous for some reason.







Thanks again for your help!


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Casey, don't let the name or what you may have seen on tv lead you to a misrepresentation of it, when you read up and learn about it and do it, its easy and relaxing and effective. You probably do it almost everyday and don't even realize it.Mike also works with some infertility issues. Just fyiGood luck with everything and don't worry about asking any questions on this forum so you know.


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