Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT is a treatment approach that helps people see the difference between beliefs, thoughts and feelings, and free them from unhelpful patterns of behavior.
CBT treatment usually involves efforts to change negative or faulty thinking patterns. These strategies might include learning to recognize distortions in thinking that are creating problems, and then to restructure those thoughts; gaining a better understanding of the behavior and motivation of others; and using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations.
Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.
– Mahatma Gandhi
CBT treatment also usually involves efforts to change behavioral patterns. These strategies might include facing your fears instead of avoiding them; learning to calm your mind and relax your body; and learning techniques for coping with stressful situations.
CBT can help with:
- Depression
- Anxiety including phobias, panic attacks, and generalized anxiety
- Posttraumatic Stress (PTSD)
- Improving relationship communication skills and resolving conflicts
- Obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD)
- Substance dependency
- Persistent pain
- Overcoming grief and loss
- Eating disorders
- Sexual issues
- Anger management issues
CBT seeks to identify the thoughts causing the individual distress and uses the homework assignments and formal sessions to break the thoughts down, replace them with alternative thoughts, and essentially reshape the way the individual thinks about these sources of stress, anxiety, and distress. If any of the above issues resonate with you, I encourage you to try cognitive behavioral therapy.
With CBT, you’ll be able to adjust the thoughts that directly influence your emotions and behavior. This adjustment process is referred to as cognitive reconstructing, which happens through different CBT techniques. This step can be difficult. You may have long-standing ways of thinking about your life and yourself. With practice, helpful thinking and behavior patterns will become a habit and won’t take as much effort.
Some CBT techniques are:
- Journaling
- Challenging beliefs
- Relaxation
- Meditation
- Mindfulness
- Social, physical and thinking exercises
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.