What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?
CBT is an empirically supported approach to therapy that focuses on helping clients identify and gain mastery over their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. It is a collaborative treatment that allows clients to set goals for treatment with the ultimate goal of allowing the client to become his/her own therapist. Emphasis is placed on learning and implementing skills over the course of treatment.
What can CBT be helpful for?
Many studies have been conducted on the efficacy of CBT for treating a large variety of conditions including anxiety, mood disorders, marital and family therapy, health related behavioral modification and addictions, to name a few. CBT skills are helpful, effective tools that anyone can benefit from during life’s normal ups and down.
What will therapy look like?
Typically, the client and therapist meet for weekly sessions in which both the client and therapist are active participants. The client should expect to gain a better sense of what he/she is going through and learn effective strategies for addressing the difficult areas in his/her life. Most weeks there will be some sort of “home” assignment, to help the client practice and generalize the work that was done in session. Once the client gains mastery over the approach, has achieved a decrease in symptoms, and feels ready, the therapist and client will meet less often until he/she feels ready to end treatment.
What if I want to start coming to therapy, but I’m not ready for assignments?
People come to treatment at different levels of readiness and that’s okay. Our ultimate goal would be to allow you to process what is interfering with your ability to be successful in life and develop goals and tools to remedy that. The goal of treatment is to be effective and treatment is tailored to meet each client’s needs.
How long is treatment?
The length of treatment will depend on the individual client, his/her needs, level of motivation, and commitment to therapy. The goal is to get the client to a healthier, more effective place as soon as possible. Occasional maintenance (or “booster”) sessions can be helpful once treatment has been completed and some clients choose to stay on in treatment for more reinforcement of the skills, support, or further insight.
Does CBT work for everyone and for every problem?
CBT is one of the most effective therapies out there, but there is no guarantee of treatment outcome. If CBT will be helpful to a client, it is something that will probably be noticeable after a short number of sessions and clients are encouraged to discuss their thoughts about treatment with the therapist.
How can I get more information?
Feel free to get in touch with Dr. Cohen for further information. You may also refer to Nation Institute of Mental Health website for further information.