Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Evidence-based tools and resources for reducing unhelpful thinking patterns, body tension, and depression. These exercises are often simple, but very effective, which is why they can be so useful.

CBT really helps you to better understand the brain, particularly how thoughts and emotions work. This actually isn't as complicated as it sounds, because there are some basic ways in which our thoughts and emotions interact. Let's look at a simple example of how a change in thought can lead to a change in emotion:

Say someone cuts you off while driving on the highway. If our thought response is, "what a jerk!" - then we're likely to feel anger in that moment. However if we choose a thought response such as "wow, they must be in a hurry" - then we won't have that anger. Maybe we'll even be grateful that there was no accident!

CBT therapy focuses on identifying the ways in which your thoughts and emotions are shaping your struggles with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. This helps you to better understand yourself, which can help avoid getting sucked into negative conclusions. Because if you don't understand why you struggle, then it's easy to internalize and blame yourself.

CBT also focuses on learning how you can use these tools to regulate your thoughts and emotions. It's one thing to know the tools, it's another to integrate them into our life. Our therapists specialize in both the education and implementation of these tools, and are here to help keep you accountable for benefiting from them.