Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a short-term, evidence-based that helps people identify and challenge unhelpful negative thought patterns that can affect mood, sleep, social interactions, and overall quality of life.
When working with a therapist using CBT, you learn how to better recognize and manage difficult emotions or irrational beliefs through coping tools. Once one begins to integrate these tools into your daily life, you feel more confident and able to handle difficult situations and challenging emotions.
After mastering basic CBT tools, I may introduce exposure and response-prevention therapy (ER/P) for anxiety. ER/P encourages a person to confront his or her fears in a safe environment through a gradual exposure toward your most dreaded situations.
ER/P exposures are structured in such a way that a person slowly gains confidence in facing one’s fears. For example, if you are someone who has performance anxiety I might ask you to recite a speech in front of me or take a test that I administer while watching you complete it. Exposures can be very uncomfortable for the person experiencing them. However, the more we avoid our fears, the more powerful and intense they tend to get. Through gradual exposure, a person can gain a greater sense of control. Anxiety gradually diminishes, and one becomes calmer and happier–able to function at home, at school, and with peers.
CBT is an effective technique for:
- Insomnia and other sleep issues
- Social anxiety
- General anxiety and worry
- Panic attacks
- Obsessions and compulsions
- Depression
- Fears and phobia
- Separation anxiety
- Test anxiety
- Performance anxiety
- Eating and body image issues
Ready to take the next step?
Give us a call or send us a message to get started on your healing journey.