Vita’s Decisions courses are cognitive behavioral programs. So what exactly does that mean? Cognitive Behavior Interventions (CBI) focuses on thinking patterns and their effects on emotions and behaviors. Problematic thinking is often habitual and is repeated even if it doesn’t lead to success.
It’s important to recognize your thinking patterns and figure out if they’re helpful or not. If not, you can learn new ways to think that will lead to different, more successful behaviors. That’s exactly what our Decisions programs aim to do. Through structured sessions, we introduce new thinking strategies. Participants are then given opportunities to practice these skills in their own lives.
CBI also looks at the influence of attitudes, values, and beliefs. These all play a role in how we look at situations and the choices we make. We start by identifying these factors and then explore whether they are helping or hurting us in situations. Many people don’t realize that attitudes can actually be chosen. We’re often more successful in reaching our goals when we’ve selected attitudes that will positively influence the situation.
One of the outcomes of CBI is an increase in self-efficacy. This is the belief that you’re capable of exerting control over your life. Most people feel better about themselves, are more likely to persist at difficult tasks, and make better choices when they believe that their efforts will positively impact their future.