Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a time-sensitive, problem-focused form of psychotherapy. It is based on the theory that the way you perceive a situation is more closely connected to how you will react to those circumstances than the actual event itself.
With CBT, you’ll learn to adjust the thoughts that directly influence your emotions and free yourself from unhelpful patterns of behavior.
CBT can help you feel better; build and maintain strong relationships; manage any symptoms; cope better with stress; become better at solving problems and achieving goals; and maintain the progress that you have made.
As the most extensively study form of psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy is an evidence-based approach that has been found effective in more than 2,000 studies of treatment of a wide-variety of health and mental health conditions.
CBT can help with:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Phobias
- Quality of life issues
- Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Substance use & dependency
- Medical conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain, migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, colitis, and fibromyalgia.
- Disordered eating
- Anger management issues
When called for by your personal needs, I use CBT to help you set your individual goals for therapy. I then create a treatment plan tailored for you, conceptualized with those goals in mind and recommend interventions—skills and techniques—that we work on together during your appointments. You also practice these skills and techniques outside of appointments, in effect, learning to become your own therapist.
Some CBT techniques include:
- Identifying negative thoughts and evaluating thoughts
- Challenging beliefs
- Increasing tolerance of distress
- Relaxation
- Enhancing communication skills, including preparing for difficult conversations
- Learning mindfulness skills
- Journaling
- Social, physical, and thinking exercises
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.