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Sexual and Gender Minority Populations

“Sex” (or “sex assigned at birth”) refers to whether someone is labeled as male or female at birth (or before birth during an ultrasound).

Sexual Assault

Anyone — men, women, and even children — can be sexually assaulted.

Selective Mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder in which a child or adolescent fails to speak in specific social situations or to specific people (e.g., school, birthday parties, or to familiar adults), despite being able to speak in other situations and to other people (e.g., home, parents, or to peers).

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a major mental illness which affects approximately 1 out of 100 in the world’s population.

Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO DBT) is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy developed by Dr. Thomas R. Lynch for disorders of overcontrol.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Most people experience stressful events, but when the event is exceptionally stressful it may be called trauma or a traumatic experience.

Postpartum Depression and Anxiety

Postpartum depression and anxiety are very common disorders, affecting as many as 1 in 6 new mothers.

Phobias

A phobia can be defined as a fear and/or avoidance of an object, activity, or situation that the individual knows is out of proportion to the actual danger that that object, activity, or situation poses.

Pediatric Mood Disorders

It is normal for youths to experience periods of depressed mood as they navigate childhood and adolescence.

Parenting Programs

Parenting programs provide parents with skills to help reduce challenging behaviors in their child (e.g., aggression, defiance) and improve their relationship with their child

Panic Disorder

In panic disorder, the panic attacks are “false” alarms, because the feeling of the alarm occurs even though there is no real danger.

Opiod Use Disorder

Opioid use disorder is defined by regular use of opioids and at least two of the following symptoms: (1) taking more opioids than one wanted, or intended to; (2) having trouble cutting down on opioid use; (3) spending a lot of time getting, using, or recovering from the effects of opioids;

Obsessive-Complusive Disorder

Although once thought to be a relatively rare condition, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is now recognized to be a common and often debilitating form of mental illness.

Military Veterans Mental Health

Though military personnel and veterans can experience the full range of mental health conditions, research suggests they are more likely to be diagnosed with mood and anxiety disorders, including depression, panic, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as anger-related disorders.

Military Suicide

Suicides among military personnel have been steadily rising during the past ten years, with suicide now being the second-leading cause of death among military personnel.

Military Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD is a stress-related disorder that develops after a traumatic experience.

Marital Distress

According to recent census data, approximately 50% of first marriages end in divorce, one of life’s most stressful events.

Low Back Pain

According to the Nuprin Pain Report, over half of the U.S. adult population suffers from backaches each year.

Misuse of Legal Stimulants by Children and Adolescents

Misuse of legal stimulants by children and adolescents is a growing concern for parents and health-care providers.

Intimate Partner Violence

Increasing attention has been devoted to intimate partner violence by the general public, government agencies, and mental health professionals over the past 50 years.

Insomnia

Insomnia is a common problem affecting up to 30% of adults. Half of the people with insomnia think their problem is bad enough to seek professional help.

Injury Prevention With Young Children

The greatest risk to children’s health is not cancer, heart disease, or any other form of illness. The leading killer of children (ages 1–19) in the United States is injury.

Hoarding

A person collects and keeps a lot of items, even things that appear useless or of little value to most people

Living With HIV

HIV is a chronic illness, and with proper treatment, individuals with HIV can live long lives, generally without changes to one’s life expectancy.

Headache

A migraine or “sick headache,” is experienced as a sudden onset, most often one-sided, intensely throbbing pain.

Understanding Your Friend or Relative’s Alcohol or Drug Problem

If someone you know has an alcohol or drug problem, whether it is your spouse, another family member, a friend, or an employee, your support can be very important in helping that person change.

Female Sexual Pain

Female Sexual Pain (FSP) disorders affect about 15% of women, and include symptoms of pain in and around the vulva, vagina, or uterus.

Eating Disorders

Large amounts of food put us at risk for the three major eating disorders: obesity, bulimia, and anorexia nervosa.

Drug Use and Abuse

When we speak of drugs, we mean those substances that affect our brain and, thus, our behavior.

Helping Children Cope With Divorce

There is a 50/50 chance that couples who marry today will divorce, and almost half of all children now growing up in the United States have seen or will see their parents’ marriage end.

Crime

Crime is frequent, increasing, and truly democratic; it affects Americans regardless of sex, race, and age.

Coping With Cancer

Cancer is the number two killer in the United States after heart disease.

Depression

Depression is a common psychological problem, experienced by many people at some time during their lives.

Complicated Grief

Grief is a normal reaction and includes a variety of psychological and physiological symptoms that evolve over time.

Survivors of Trauma: Combat-Related Stress

Traumas in the military can occur in a variety of circumstances, at home and abroad

Cognitive Remediation for Psychiatric Disorders

Cognitive remediation (CR), also called cognitive enhancement, cognitive rehabilitation, or cognitive training, is a behavioral intervention targeting problems with cognition (the mental ability to process and understand information and ideas).

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is an illness characterized by a combination of symptoms and signs that have lasted six months or longer.

Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse (CSA) involves sexual contact between a child and an adult, an older youth (e.g., four or more years older), or any person perceived as having greater power or authority.

Adolescent and Young Adults With Cancer

The effects of a cancer diagnosis and treatment may be especially upsetting for people diagnosed as adolescents and young adults.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a psychological disorder affecting about 1 to 2% of the population.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a preoccupation with a nonexistent or slight appearance defect, coupled with behaviors or rituals, such as excessive mirror checking, performed in response to appearance-related anxiety.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depressive illness, is a persistent psychological illness that affects over 2% of adults worldwide.

Bereavement

Although loss is a nearly universal experience, there is considerable variety in how people grieve.

Bed-Wetting

About 15% of all elementary-school-age children wet the bed, and continued bed-wetting beyond the age of 5 is a problem that should be treated.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has two parts: difficulty using language to communicate and restricted and repetitive behaviors.

Anger

In response to being criticized or ignored, or when overwhelmed with daily hassles, people can feel irritated, annoyed, or angry.

Alcohol

Drinking beverages containing alcohol has been prevalent in many societies throughout history.

AIDS Prevention

The first known cases of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were identified in 1981

Chronic Pain

Chronic, disabling pain is estimated to affect over 50 million people in the U.S. alone.

Bullying for Mental Health Professionals

Bullying is a significant problem for many children, youth, and adults worldwide.

Bullying

Bullying is a significant problem for many children, adolescents, and adults worldwide.

Aging

Most older adults are less likely than younger adults to have common mental health conditions

Adolescent Suicide

Suicide the third leading cause of death for adolescents. Out of every 100 attempts, 1 adolescent will succeed in committing suicide.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have difficulties in sustaining attention to tasks, particularly if they demand more effort than usual.

Health Anxiety

Anxiety is the body’s natural response to the perception of threat.

Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety is a normal emotion and common experience, and it represents one of the most basic of human emotions.

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What is Cognitive Behavior Therapy?

Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy are types of treatment that are based firmly on research findings. These approaches aid 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 lessening back pain or helping a person stick to a doctor’s suggestions.

Behavior Therapists and Cognitive Behavior 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, not on personality traits. Behavior Therapists and Cognitive Behavior Therapists treat individuals, parents, children, couples, and families. Replacing ways of living that do not work well with ways of living that work, and giving people more control over their lives, are common goals of behavior and cognitive behavior therapy.

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.