Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT is based on the idea that the way that an individual thinks affects how they feel and in turn affects how they behave. The goal of CBT is to transform clients' faulty or negative thought patterns in order to change their responses to difficult situations. CBT is used as a treatment approach for a wide variety of issues including:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Self-Esteem Issues
- Stress
- Social Phobia
- Eating Disorders
- Sleep Disturbances
- Relationship Issues
- Trauma
- Pain
With CBT you will first learn to identify the various types of thinking errors, or automatic negative thoughts (ANTS) that cause you distress and keep you stuck. With practice, you will gain awareness of these ANTS and how they impact your emotional state and your behavior. You will learn skills for challenging ANTS and reframing them into thoughts that are more realistic, helpful and positive. By becoming a more flexible thinker, it will become easier to assess the reality of situations, more accurately gauge people's words, actions or intentions and notice your assumptions. You will be able to much more easily cope with and soothe yourself through situations that may have previously felt overwhelming and led to behaving with reactivity or immobilization. With practice of CBT skills, your mindset, behaviors and overall well-being can improve exponentially!
In our practice, CBT is often used in conjunction with other treatment approaches, such as EMDR and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. CBT is used as an intervention to build foundational skills and resources for preparing clients for the deeper work involved with trauma processing.
For a deeper look into CBT click here.
To learn more about how CBT treatment may be able to help you feel free to contact us here.