Dreamin Reviews: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Made Simple
By:Jasmin Roden, LMSW, CAADC
Happy New Year! I have taken a little break from writing reviews but I am back with an easy-to-read and timely choice. Cognitive behavioral Therapy Made Sime, 10 Strategies for Managing Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Panic and Worry by Seth J. Hillihan PHD is the book. I think that this is a perfect book for those of you who are working on sticking to your New Year's resolutions. Dr. Gillihan specifically shares that this book is for those who are in therapy, previously had Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), or would desire a refresher in therapy. Sounds like a nice adjunct to mental health therapy and helps you stick with your goals.
Chapter one of this book is on the foundation and starting of CBT. This treatment modality is meant to provide relief from symptoms within six to twelve mental health therapy sessions. CBT is based on the here and now and not as heavily focused on the impact of childhood or previous experiences. Chapter two is all about setting personal goals for oneself and identifying specifically what you want to see different for yourself. The chapter helps identify what domains it may be helpful to establish goals for, relationships, faith/meaning, education/work, physical health, responsibilities at home, and recreation. Chapter three is all about Behavioral Activation. This is an important part of treating depression as often little to no motivation is a symptom of depression. Behavioral activation is supported as one of the gold-star treatments for depression. This chapter has forms to help identify values and activities that support those values to improve depression and overall life satisfaction.
Chapter four highlights the core of CBT as tending to our thoughts and recognizing unhelpful thoughts or negative automatic thought patterns. This chapter is all about the what and how. Tracking or journaling our thoughts can be a good starting point in identifying those unhelpful thoughts. Once those unhelpful thoughts are identified, it is time to take them to trial and to help see if there is any evidence to support those thoughts. Chapter five is on what core beliefs are and ways that you can identify unhelpful or harmful core beliefs about yourself, others, or the world around you. The chapter explains how you can debunk those core beliefs that don’t serve you.
Chapter six is all about mindfulness. My favorite quote from this chapter is, “So much of our unhappiness arises from things that have nothing to do with what's real in this moment.” The two key points of mindfulness are presence and acceptance of what is. Mindfulness helps with greater awareness, better control of our emotions, different relationships with our thoughts, and decreased emotional reactivity. Chapter seven is about how to beat procrastination. Procrastination interferes with being able to achieve the goals that we set for ourselves. Chapter seven gives the reader strategies on how to manage and information on why we procrastinate.
Chapter eight goes into the description of anxiety, fear, and worry. Anxiety involves an imagined threat that may or may not happen. Fear is what happens in the presence of what scares you and worry is when we repeatedly think about feared outcomes in uncertain situations. This chapter then describes and differentiates anxiety mental health disorders that are in the DSM 5. All of the disorders listed in the book can be treated with CBT, including specific phobias, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, and OCD. Chapter nine is on anger. The underlying belief of anger is that a person was wronged to some degree. This chapter explains what is the purpose of anger and the various levels of anger, from mild irritation to rage. Anger is a necessary emotion, however, it does get to a point that it is excessive and harmful to yourself and others. This chapter is loaded with tips on managing anger through thinking, acting, or being mindful. “So much of our anger stems from the belief that things should be different than they are. Through mindful awareness, we let go of these judgments.” Pg. 154.
Chapter ten and the conclusion of this book is about the foundations of taking care of yourself and being kind to yourself. It highlights the importance of a lifestyle and habits that will support your mood and emotional needs. The first and arguably the most important is sleep. Adults need 7-9 hours of sleep at night on average. Chronic lack of sleep impacts all areas of our life. The next habit is eating nourishing foods that are within the medittarnian-based diet. The third habit is moving your body. This does not mean that you need to be at the gym for hours on end, it can be as simple as going for a walk around the block or playing with your kids in a game of tag. One habit that I currently am also working on is less time on technology. More lifestyle habits to try and incorporate are getting outside more, having gratitude for what you do have, and serving others through volunteer work or even just kind words to a friend. The book ends with a chapter on resources for additional help. As always, the book stresses that if you are still struggling even after reading this book and implementing some of the skills, then seek professional help.
Readability: Easy and clear to understand. No googling occurred on my end while reading this book.
Recommended Reader: Any adult or adolescent could benefit from reading this book. Someone who is looking to make intentional changes in the way they behave and think. There are so many great examples and suggestions.
It is important to note that these books and other resources are not appropriate or meant to replace mental health or substance abuse treatment. If your symptoms are impacting your daily life, please seek treatment.
