Person speaking with a therapist during a counseling session, engaged in conversation as part of cognitive behavioral therapy.

What Happens in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

By  on January 2, 2026

One of the most common types of talk therapy is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It is a well-recognized psychological treatment that can help people with depression, alcohol or drug use, and anxiety. It also helps in cases of severe mental health disorders, eating disorders, and panic disorders.

When you seek out mental health treatment from Victory Addiction Recovery Center, you’ll likely use CBT as a component of your care. That’s because it’s often at the core of changing the way you think and process negative emotions, thoughts, and experiences. Let’s explore what CBT is and how it will help you.

What Is CBT?

CBT focuses on several core principles:

  • Psychological problems are at least based in part on faulty or unhelpful ways of thinking.
  • Psychological problems are based, at least in part, on learned patterns of unhelpful behavior.
  • Those who have psychological problems can learn better ways to cope with them, which relieves symptoms and allows them to live more effective lives.

CBT is highly effective for many people, with studies showing it is more effective than most other types of treatment for some people. These methods help you to change your thoughts, which produce behavioral changes.

What Happens During CBT Treatment?

Although each treatment process is a bit different, you can expect CBT therapy to focus on one or more of the following strategies.

  • Recognize distortions. You’ll learn, first, to recognize the distortions in your thinking process. These distortions are inaccuracies in the way you are thinking about various situations or experiences. You learn to reevaluate them with a clearer light.
  • Understand your behaviors. You’ll learn to understand why you have the behaviors you use. You can learn the motivation behind the actions you take, such as why you use alcohol when you are stressed.
  • Build problem-solving skills. You’ll then learn strategies to deal with the difficult situations in a more authentic and effective manner. You’ll learn new, healthy coping mechanisms for those challenging situations.
  • Build confidence. You then learn how to have a better level of confidence in your own abilities. This allows you to develop a greater sense of confidence in navigating stressful situations.

You may also benefit from implementing ways to change the negative behaviors you have. By learning what these behavioral patterns are and learning to recognize them, you have a better ability to change them. Many people face this process through strategies such as:

  • Learning to calm your mind. You’ll learn how to slow a racing mind that is often out of control with inaccurate thoughts. This process helps you calm your body’s reaction to that stress.
  • Face your fears. You’re not going to have to relive trauma, but you will learn steps and tools for facing the things that you are most afraid of. This allows you to build skills to challenge those fears.
  • Role play solutions. You may work with your therapist through role-playing to prepare for potential high-risk situations. That might include interactions with people or experiences that you are afraid of encountering.

Your CBT therapist will explore a variety of scenarios and thought processes with you. The goal is to provide you with clear evidence of the inaccuracy of negative thoughts, the implications of those negative thoughts, and the strategies available to help you defeat those processes. CBT therapy can treat addiction.

What Happens During a CBT Session?

During a CBT session with your therapist, you’ll work in private to discuss your thoughts and experiences. The overall process will involve several steps:

  1. Find the negative patterns. Identify the specific negative, automatic negative thoughts that you have. Document the unhealthy behaviors you’re experiencing.
  2. Challenge those thoughts. Question why you have those thoughts and, most importantly, if they are actually accurate or misleading.
  3. Replace irrational thoughts. If the thoughts are inaccurate, you’ll learn how to reframe or replace them with what’s more realistic.
  4. Behavioral adjustments. You’ll discuss the behaviors you have that often result from those negative thoughts and see how they are holding you back.
  5. Build relaxation and overcome challenges. During your therapy, you’ll learn to face your fears, potentially through exposure therapy. You’ll then learn how to apply relaxation techniques to provide you with relief.

CBT will take several treatment cycles and processes to work towards a resolution. Most people find that the process is calm and helpful, without any potentially negative outcomes. You may be thinking in a new way, and you may learn that what you are facing is something you can overcome.

Let’s Get Started On Treatment: Contact Us Now

If you are facing control by negative thoughts and actions, seek treatment. Victory Addiction Recovery Center can help you. Set up an assessment to learn the strategies we can offer that can provide you with the relief you need. Contact us now to learn more about how we can help you.