Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at how our thoughts influence our feelings and behaviors. It helps client change unhelpful and often inaccurate thinking. This can lead to improvement in mood. Helping clients understand and identify their negative/anxious core beliefs helps us change them to positive/anchoring core beliefs that result in new functional behavior.
CBT is collaborative. It is in working with clients that we help them identify their automatic thoughts that drive their feelings and behavior. Identifying automatic thoughts helps us recognize when we are thinking about a situation in an untrue and/or unhelpful way. These patterns are called cognitive distortions. We help clients identify these and look for evidence of more realistic thoughts.
CBT helps Anxiety Disorders, Panic Attacks, Depression, Anger, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (combined with ERP) and relationship problems.
What is Exposure Response Prevention?
ERP is a type of CBT for the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It involves exposing yourself to the thought, image, object or situation that makes you anxious and want to start your obsessions. Response prevention means making a choice not to do a compulsive behavior or ritual once the obsession has been triggered. It involves being uncomfortable on purpose to eventually experience a drop in anxiety as you become habituated. This is always a collaborative process.