# What should I look for when seeking Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?



## WhatTheFudgeCakeSundae (Nov 12, 2014)

I just found out about cognitive behavioral therapy a couple weeks ago or so, so I don't know everything about it. From what I understand, it seems like there are different ideas about how it should be done. So when I am looking for treatment options for myself, what should I be looking for exactly? Is group therapy superior to individual therapy? What kind of people should I avoid who give out treatment?


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## Dylan2 (Jun 3, 2012)

WhatTheFudgeCakeSundae said:


> I just found out about cognitive behavioral therapy a couple weeks ago or so, so I don't know everything about it. From what I understand, it seems like there are different ideas about how it should be done. So when I am looking for treatment options for myself, what should I be looking for exactly? Is group therapy superior to individual therapy? What kind of people should I avoid who give out treatment?


There shouldn't be much of a difference between CBT practitioners in how they go about their treatment, aside from how experienced they are. There is some difference in how CBT is applied from one disorder to another, however. You should be looking for someone who is certified by their state or regulatory body to practice therapy, has at least a masters degree and has experience treating your specific problem. Individual therapy is slightly superior to group therapy for social anxiety disorder.

This link could be helpful: http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/treatment/questions-choosing-your-therapist


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## Shadowmoses1 (Nov 28, 2014)

A therapist that understands.h


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## WhatTheFudgeCakeSundae (Nov 12, 2014)

Dylan2 said:


> There shouldn't be much of a difference between CBT practitioners in how they go about their treatment, aside from how experienced they are. There is some difference in how CBT is applied from one disorder to another, however. You should be looking for someone who is certified by their state or regulatory body to practice therapy, has at least a masters degree and has experience treating your specific problem. Individual therapy is slightly superior to group therapy for social anxiety disorder.
> 
> This link could be helpful: http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/treatment/questions-choosing-your-therapist


Alright, thank you. 

Is individual therapy supposed to be slightly better than group therapy because you get more one on one time? Or what is it? I would think that hypothetically that there might be certain aspects of group therapy that would perhaps make it in _some ways_, (but not all,) superior. But that's just my speculation lol. I admit that I'm not familiar with any of the medical literature or anything so I can't really say that that is a fact.


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## lucyhank (Dec 3, 2014)

this is great to know


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## Dylan2 (Jun 3, 2012)

WhatTheFudgeCakeSundae said:


> Alright, thank you.
> 
> Is individual therapy supposed to be slightly better than group therapy because you get more one on one time? Or what is it? I would think that hypothetically that there might be certain aspects of group therapy that would perhaps make it in _some ways_, (but not all,) superior. But that's just my speculation lol. I admit that I'm not familiar with any of the medical literature or anything so I can't really say that that is a fact.


Yeah, it would make sense for group therapy to have some advantages over individual when the issues being dealt with are all about social interaction. However, I don't know if any studies have looked at specific aspects of group therapy that could put it ahead of individual therapy, or vice versa. Normally, researchers are just interested in which treatment resulted in a larger number of patients who improved overall.

We used to assume group therapy was superior for social anxiety disorder, before there was much research into the issue. Several large meta-analyses have come out in the past few years though, showing individual therapy to be superior to group therapy. Why? We don't know. Maybe one-on-one treatment allows for more flexible planning and more time devoted to the individual patient. Maybe it's easier to overcome setbacks in therapy (e.g., "I chickened out of calling her") when you only have to share your embarrassments with one therapist, rather than an entire group.

Still, the difference between individual and group isn't large.


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## alterrain (May 29, 2014)

Hi,

I wouldn't be able to do group therapy myself, but I would if I could, as I think it would help me, just being with a group of fellow sufferers. Try to find someone you get on with and think would be good for you. Maybe you could meet prospective therapists before you definitively sign up. Good luck.

John


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