What Is CBT?

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY  is a generic term for various compassionate types of evidence-based or evidence-informed psychotherapies. CBT includes. Behavioral Activation, Mindfulness-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBTi (Insomnia focused CBT), Meta-Cognitive Therapy, Schema Therapy, Positive Psychology, Prolonged Exposure, Exposure Response Prevention, and Emotional Schema Focused Therapy, as well as other evidence-based or evidence-informed psychological/behavioral protocols. However, the common core of CBT involves the relationship between physiological sensations, context, implicit or explicit beliefs, thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

Key features:

·        CBT is a multidimensional or holistic view of emotional experiences. CBT integrates current scientific research covering, among other dimensions, mindfulness training, mind and body systems, epigenetics, cell biology (e.g., telomeres and stress), various roles played by the immune system, neuroscience, and other scientific advances following the spirit of multidisciplinary organizations, e.g., American Psychological Science.

·        Evidence-Based: For the past four decades, randomized studies have found CBT to be productive for a variety of disorders: Depression, Bi-Polar Depression, Generalized Anxiety, Panic, Anger Management, Insomnia, and PTSD, as well as Positive Psychology

·        Goal-Oriented: The therapist and the client develop plans for their work and ways to monitor progress. Plans emphasize the importance of acquiring value-driven behavior, thoughts, wants, and needs.

·   Continuity of care: A plan is set for each session. Agendas or plans include: 

   What the client found to be helpful as well as found to be less so in the previous session

  What the client's past week was like

   What the client feels would be beneficial to discuss in the current session

  In our CBT journey, we will review the results of previously assigned "own-work"/action plan assignments (usually a combination of meditation exercises, behavioral experiments, thought processing exercises, or exposure exercises) to promote a path towards value-based aspirations.

A report of medications taken or not taken.

BASIC FEATURES

  • Collaboration: The therapist and client work as a team to understand what may trigger or maintain maladaptive habits or symptoms and discuss strategies that may help. The late Dr. Aaron T. Beck, one of the founders of Cognitive Therapy, described the therapy process as similar to a team of scientists working together to form hypotheses about the problem or difficulty and conduct experiments to see what can help. Also, as a team, we develop Action Plans that the therapist and client design to assist you in staying guided by the client’s values, positive goals, and aspirations.

  • The primary goal is to guide the client to be their compassionate therapist: Constantly collecting experiences or data to create tools and strategies to regulate emotionally and behaviorally and return to the enjoyment of pursuing their aspirations. Emotions are a healthy part of being human, nevertheless "too much-no good" and "too little-no good."

  • "Own-work"/Action Plan: The session is usually one hour out of a 168-hour week. During that one hour, the client and therapist plan homework/own work/Action Plan assignments to build the client's coping by enhancing their more positive mind-body balancing repertoire. Thus, with this Action Plan assignment, therapy continues during the remaining 167 hours of the week.

  • One person said, "I am working on the habit of less moping or doping and enhancing the habit to cope while maintaining HOPE. Learn to Catch, Check, and Change maladaptive automatic cognitive, behavioral, physiological, and mood habits. In addition, try to practice meditation and other forms of relaxation.