Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

"When I look back on all these worrries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened."

-Sir Winston Churchill-

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT is a short-term, practical, problem-focused form of psychotherapy. It helps people make concrete, observable changes in their lives. It helps people see the connections between their beliefs, thoughts, and feelings, and develop skills to free them from unhelpful patterns. In CBT, the client and therapist work collaboratively to identify patterns of thinking and behavior. Exercises such as identifying core beliefs and behavioral strategies to oversome fear are common in CBT.

CBT is grounded in the belief that it is a person’s perception of events, rather than the events themselves, that determines how he or she will feel and act in response. The premise is that some people develop limiting beliefs about themsleves which interfere with their functioning and goals in life. This can lead to anxiety, depression, insomnia, relationship issues, as well as a number of other issues. In CBT, people examine the beliefs that are holding them back in their lives and learn strategies to counteract those beliefs.

CBT has many decades of research behind it and is considered an evidence-based psychotherapy depression, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, phobias, OCD, insomnia, and many others. CBT is:

Evidence-based
Goal-oriented
Collaborative
Present-focused
Active

CBT is based on several core principles, including:

Psychological problems, such as anxiety and depression are based, in part, on unhelpful ways of thinking. These patterns of thinking can be idenified, recognized, and changed.
Psychological problems are based, in part, on behavior that gets reinforced and then becomes unhelpful and limiting in one's life. For example, the more we avoid the things that we fear, the more avoidance becomes reinforced, and one's life becomes smaller and less fulfilling.
People suffering from psychological problems can learn better ways of coping with them, such as learning new skills, and thereby become more effective and resilient in their lives.

CBT usually involves efforts to change thinking patterns. These strategies might include:

Learning to recognize unhelpful thinking patterns that are limiting us, and then evaluating them more clearly.
Using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations.
Learning to develop a greater sense of confidence in one’s own abilitiy to cope with stress, anxiety, and other life challenges.

CBT also usually involves efforts to change behavioral patterns. These strategies might include:

Facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them.
Using role playing to prepare for potentially difficult interactions with others.
Learning mindfulness and relaxation skills to calm one’s mind and relax one’s body.

CBT places an emphasis on helping individuals learn skills and strategies to cope effectively in their lives. Through exercises in the session as well as exercies to practice outside of sessions, clients are helped to develop coping skills, whereby they can learn to change their own thinking, difficult emotions, and behavior.

CBT therapists emphasize what is going on in the person’s current life, rather than what has led up to their difficulties. A certain amount of discussion about one’s history, such as family history is needed, but the focus is primarily on moving forward in time to develop more effective ways of coping with life.

CBT is not a cookie cutter approach and I tailor my work with each individual and often incorporate other approaches, such as mindfulness and acceptance.

CBT can help with:

With CBT, you’ll be able to recognize the thoughts and underlying beliefs that directly influence your emotions and behavior. This adjustment process is referred to as cognitive reconstructing, which happens through different CBT techniques. Here's a diagram of how thoughts, emotions, physical reactions, and behaviors are connected in CBT:

Some CBT techniques are:

Journaling
Challenging beliefs
Relaxation
Meditation
Mindfulness
Social, experiential and thinking exercises

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is much more than sitting and talking about whatever comes to mind during a session. CBT sessions are structured to ensure that the therapist and the person in treatment are focused on the different goals of each session, which in turn ensures that each and every session is productive.

If you or someone you know would benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, please contact me today. I would be happy to speak with you about how I may be able to help.

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