Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be successfully used to treat problems in children and adolescents, such as anxiety disorders and depressive disorders.
It is also a good form of complementary treatment of eating disorders. Therapeutic methods can be adapted to the age of the child and adapted to the current needs of the patient. Therapists do not stop at classic methods, such as psychoeducation, relaxation or exposure, but more and more often use more modern tools. Sometimes other people are involved in their use, e.g. the patient’s family or peer group. CBT is generally a short-term approach that focuses on strengthening the patient’s adequate coping strategies.
The use of CBT in young patients is based on several pillars: the child learns to recognize his emotions and physiological reactions of his body, identify and then reformulate thoughts and beliefs in problem situations, and then use new coping strategies and evaluate their results.