Fact Sheet Writers

The Fact Sheets are produced as part of team partnership. An expert or experts in the field being discussed drafts text to cover elements of the disorder: what’s it like, what problems occur because of it, what can be done to help the person, and how likely is it that the person’s life might improve. It goes through a review process with other therapists plus a professional editor during which time we check for facts, make sure that pertinent information is there, and, sometimes, rewrite it so that it is accessible to the broadest possible audience.

Adolescent and Young Adults with Cancer, Glynnis McDonnell, MA, St. John’s University
Adolescent Suicide, Michele Berk, Ph.D., Stanford University
Adult Traumatic Brain Injury for Mental Health Professionals: Ana Soper, Ph.D., United States Navy
Adult Traumatic Brain Injury for Supporters of Individuals with Traumatic brain Injury: Ana Soper, Ph.D., United States Navy
Adult Traumatic Brain Injury for Survivors of Brain Injury: Ana Soper, Ph.D., United States Navy
Aging: Kelly Bergstrom, MA; Abby Laine, MA; Colleen Mulligan; Ann Steffen, PhD, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Body Dysmorphia Disorder: Ilana Ladis, Harvard
Bullying: Susan Swearer, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Child Sexual Abuse: Akemi E. Mii, Kelsey McCoy, Mary Fran Flood, and David J. Hansen at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
(COVID-19) Ten Steps to Cope with the Pandemic: Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D., American Institute for Cognitive Therapy
Family Caregiving: Kelly Bergstrom, MA; Abby Laine, MA; Colleen Mulligan; Ann Steffen, PhD, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Injury Prevention with Young Children: Amy Damashek, Western Michigan
Intimate Partner Violence: Sam Patton and Laura Watkins, Emory University
Hypertension: Jeffrey M. Greeson, PhD, MS, Rowan University; and Jeffrey L. Goodie, PhD, ABPP, and Kevin Wilfong, BS, USUHS
Military Suicide: Craig Bryan, Psy.D., University of Utah
Military Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Alan Peterson, Ph.D., Charity Wilkinson, Psy.D., & Brian Creasy, Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center
Misuse of Legal Stimulants by Children and Adolescents: Ellen L. Vaughan, Ph.D., & Matthew Powless, M.S.Ed., Indiana University
Opioid Use Disorder: Kate Wolitzky-Taylor, UCLA
Parent Training: Mary Hagan, Caroline Gillenson, and Daniel M. Bagner, Ph.D., ABPP, at Florida International University
Postpartum Depression and Anxiety: Laura Payne, Ph.D., UCLA
Sexual and Gender Minority: Brian A. Feinstein, Northwestern University Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing; Jae A. Puckett, Michigan State University; Debra Kaysen, University of Washington; and Steven A. Safren, University of Miami
Thank you to our Contributors to our Spanish-language Fact Sheet translations:
Laura Acosta, Natalia Acosta, and Liza Talavera-Garza and her students at UT-RGV
Treating Race-Based Traumatic Stress, Janeé M. Steele, Walden University
Race-Based Traumatic Stress: Diversity Action Committee of the Academy of Cognitive & Behavioral Therapies: Lizbeth Gaona, Committee chair, California Baptist University; Mudita A. Bahadur, Independent Practice, Santa Monica, CA; Lisa Bolden, UCLA; Hollie Granato, UCLA; Brittany Hall, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Jamie Schumpf, Yeshiva University; Janeé M. Steele, Walden University; Scott Waltman, Center for Dialectical and Cognitive Behavioral Therapies, San Antonio, TX
COVID for Kids, Richard Gallagher, NYU Langone Health

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of treatment that is based firmly on research findings. It places emphasis on changing your cognitions (thoughts) or behaviors (actions) in order to effect change in how you feel. These approaches help people in achieving specific changes or goals.

Changes or goals might involve:

A way of acting: like smoking less or being more outgoing;
A way of feeling: like helping a person to be less scared, less depressed, or less anxious;
A way of thinking: like learning to problem-solve or get rid of self-defeating thoughts;
A way of dealing with physical or medical problems: like reducing back pain or helping a person stick to a doctor’s suggestions.

Cognitive behavioral therapists usually focus more on the current situation and its solution, rather than the past. They concentrate on a person’s views and beliefs about their life. CBT is an effective treatment for individuals, parents, children, couples, and families. The goal of CBT is to help people improve and gain more control over their lives by changing behaviors that don’t work well to ones that do.

How to Get Help

If you are looking for help, either for yourself or someone else, you may be tempted to call someone who advertises in a local publication or who comes up from a search of the Internet. You may, or may not, find a competent therapist in this manner. It is wise to check on the credentials of a psychotherapist. It is expected that competent therapists hold advanced academic degrees. They should be listed as members of professional organizations, such as the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies or the American Psychological Association. Of course, they should be licensed to practice in your state. You can find competent specialists who are affiliated with local universities or mental health facilities or who are listed on the websites of professional organizations. You may, of course, visit our website (www.abct.org) and click on “Find a CBT Therapist”

The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) is an interdisciplinary organization committed to the advancement of a scientific approach to the understanding and amelioration of problems of the human condition. These aims are achieved through the investigation and application of behavioral, cognitive, and other evidence-based principles to assessment, prevention, and treatment.