Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapeutic approach based on the cognitive model: how we interpret situations influences how we feel emotionally. CBT has demonstrated strong empirical support for the treatment of a wide variety of mental health concerns related to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and others. CBT is generally focused on the present, time-limited, and oriented toward solving problems. Through use of CBT principles, one can learn skills to change maladaptive behaviors, identify distorted thoughts, and modify irrational beliefs. Within counseling, it is common for the therapist to structure the sessions and actively challenge the client in a collaborative manner. Within this working alliance, it is common to engage in active problem solving, come up with alternative ways of thinking and/or behaving, and commit to engaging in therapeutic homework (related to specific therapeutic goals) between sessions.
The idea is to gain a concrete and fact-based understanding of what thoughts and behaviors enable one to do well, so that those thoughts and behaviors can be strengthened through reinforcement and repetition. Maladaptive thoughts and behaviors are challenged through questioning their validity, seeking evidence for and against false beliefs, and actively testing out hypotheses that beliefs or situations are truly as they appear.
“A sick thought can devour the body’s flesh more than fever or consumption.” – Guy de Maupassant When you’re in the midst of a repetitive pattern of self-defeating thoughts it can be tough to see any alternatives. In fact, self-defeating automatic thoughts can become so repetitive that you may have never even considered the mere…Read More
“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” – C.S. Lewis Life rarely goes exactly as planned, even for the most conscientious people. Sometimes life’s surprises are joyous, such as falling in love…Read More
“Don’t be ashamed to weep; ’tis right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water. But there must be sunlight also. A wounded heart will heal in time, and when it does, the memory and love of our lost ones is sealed inside to comfort us.” – Brian…Read More
“All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Emotions are a rich source of personal information that offer the potential for tremendous growth… and great suffering. The way in which you tend to deal with feelings generally stems from your core beliefs…Read More
“One thing is sure. We have to do something. We have to do the best we know how at the moment… If it doesn’t turn out right, we can modify it as we go along.” – Franklin D.Roosevelt Problems in life can take on a variety of forms, but many of them share common characteristics that…Read More
“That the birds of worry and care fly over you head, this you cannot change, but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.” – Chinese Proverb Worry can be useful when it is experienced in the form of eustress, motivating you to take important actions or solve problems in your life.…Read More
“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” – Henry van Dyke Perfectionistic ways of thinking and behaving are often rooted in deep-seated core beliefs that can be quite resistant to change. The need for perfection can be related to closely attaching one’s…Read More
“Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Core beliefs are fundamental views that we have internalized about ourselves, other people, and the world. These beliefs are generally so central to our identity and worldview that they often go unquestioned. We often develop core beliefs…Read More
“Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light?” – Maurice Freehill How does fear hold you back from doing the things in life that you truly wish to do? In what ways does your fear keep you locked into perpetual patterns of behavior that restrict your…Read More
“The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to know how to live to purpose.” – Michel de Montaigne As you begin to live your life in 2012, ask yourself how you might be able to make successful New Year’s resolutions this year. How might your personally chosen goals for yourself have a greater chance…Read More