CBT — Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Thoughts, feelings, and behaviour feed each other. A vicious cycle:
CBT interrupts this loop through cognitive restructuring: catch the automatic thought, weigh the real evidence for and against it, and build a more balanced, useful interpretation — which changes the feeling and the behaviour.
DBT — Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
Especially powerful for borderline patterns. It teaches four skills: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. The word dialectical means holding two truths at once:
That balance of acceptance + change is the heart of DBT.
ERP — Exposure and Response Prevention
The specific, powerful treatment for OCD. Instead of feeding the loop (touch handle → anxiety → wash → relief → loop grows), ERP does the opposite: *face the trigger and don't perform the ritual. Over time the brain learns the vital lesson: "I can feel the anxiety and it fades on its own — without the compulsion."*
| Therapy | Best for | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| CBT | anxiety, depression | fix thought–feeling–behaviour loops |
| DBT | borderline pattern | emotion regulation (acceptance + change) |
| ERP | OCD | face the trigger, block the ritual |
Quick check ✅
- Match each: CBT / DBT / ERP → (emotion regulation) / (OCD loop) / (thoughts & behaviour).
- What does "dialectical" mean in DBT?
Remember this 🌟
Where we're going next → Our final concept — a powerful, misunderstood treatment (Concept 49).