Cognitive behavioral therapy (or CBT) is a short-term,
action-focused form of psychotherapy. CBT aims to address specific
problems utilizing techniques that have been supported by research
findings. The aim of CBT work is to improve your feelings/mood by
making changes in the way you think about a situation, the
way you behave, and/or the way you interpret and respond to your
emotions. Unlike other forms of psychotherapy, CBT work
usually does not focus on discovering the origin of a problem or
gaining insight into a problem. Rather, CBT focuses on how an
existing problem(s) can best be solved.
For more information, see:
What problems
can be addressed with CBT?
What happens in a CBT
session?
Initial Sessions
In the first 1-3 sessions of CBT treatment, I
aim to get to know you and understand the problems that you would
like to work on. Armed with this knowledge, we
will create a treatment plan with specific goals in mind. Our
sessions will be guided by this treatment plan. However, we will
constantly re-visit this plan, and change it if we feel it is not
working.
Treatment Plan
As part of your treatment plan, we may explore one or more of the
following:
- Behavioral work: This involves changing
your behavior in the service of meeting your goals. Examples
include:
- Adopting a pattern of regular eating (Eating Disorders)
- Gradually exposing yourself to things/situations/people
you fear (Anxiety Disorders)
- Following a schedule of both productive and pleasurable
activities (Depression)
- Exploring new ways of communicating with your partner or
co-workers (Relationship problems, Work difficulties)
- Cognitive work: This involves exploring the
ways that you think about things, and challenging any types of
thinking that may be maintaining your problems. Common examples
of problematic thinking
include:
- Catastrophizing (always expecting that the worst will
happen)
- Black-and-white/all-or-nothing thinking
- Perfectionistic thinking
- Jumping to conclusions
- Mindfulness work: Increasingly, CBT
therapists are incorporating mindfulness techniques into
treatment. The aim of mindfulness exercises is to help you
learn to pay full attention to your thoughts, feelings, and
experiences in the present moment, without judging them. If
you can learn to fully experience your thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors in the moment, you are in a better position to respond to these
thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a
productive way.
Other features of CBT
In CBT, there is usually homework assigned at the end of every
session. Therapy sessions only last for 45 minutes each week; the real
work is done between sessions, when you experiment with new
techniques during your day-to-day life. In my experience, the people
who do the best in CBT are the ones who do their homework regularly!
In addition, CBT is designed to be collaborative. My goal as a CBT therapist is to work collaboratively with you to
ensure that you are meeting your goals. I will encourage you to
always give me feedback about what is working and what is not. Together, we will figure out what works best for you.
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