Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Services

During a challenging CBT session, crying, feeling drained, irritated, upset, or angry is customary. There’s little risk associated with CBT sessions, although exploring deep emotions and painful experiences can be uncomfortable. Stay with the work as your therapist gently guides and encourages you to explore painful feelings, emotions, and experiences.

For example, exposure therapy, a particular cognitive behavioral therapy, may require you to confront situations you’d rather avoid. If you are fearful about driving after a car accident, your therapist may challenge you to get back behind the wheel and navigate the familiar streets of your neighborhood. From there, you’ll move toward more populated roads and, finally, the highway. These exposure therapy sessions can lead to temporary stress or anxiety, but the risks will be minimal compared with the coping skills you will learn that get you driving again.

Our Origins Counseling therapists are highly trained in CBT techniques. Licensed and certified in psychological counseling, they will use all their skills to identify the precise type and intensity of CBT that best fits your situation and needs.

After discussing your precise goals, your trained CBT therapist will talk with you about your past and present emotional health. As you begin to talk about your thoughts and feelings, you’ll be able to identify what’s troubling you as you gain more confidence and comfort.

CBT generally uses a goal-oriented approach to focus on specific problems. As you go through the therapy process, your therapist may ask you to participate in home-based activities, reading, or practices that build on what you learn during your regular CBT sessions to help with life application. After you identify troubling situations, you and your therapist may spend time selecting the goals you want to focus on during CBT. You’ll be encouraged to pay particular attention to your self-talk and keep a journal, as it will help to reveal beliefs about yourself and others. As you learn to identify negative thinking and recognize long-held belief systems, you’ll reshape your inaccurate thinking and learn more helpful coping techniques.

You and your Origins Counseling therapist will adjust your schedule and sessions based on the severity of your symptoms, your support system, the amount of stress you are experiencing, and how quickly you progress. Your type of disorder and how long you have been dealing with your situation will also be factors.

Do your best to remain honest and open about your feelings, thoughts, and experiences. Even when you feel down or unmotivated, keep your promise to attend your CBT sessions. The positive effects of CBT multiply when you approach your sessions with your therapist as a partnership.

Results are never instant, and improvement can be slow. Keep trying to do your homework outside your regular CBT sessions, and don’t be afraid to let your Origins Counseling therapist know if you feel a different approach might be helpful.