Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a practical, goal-oriented and short-term psychotherapy treatment focused on helping clients change and reformulate problematic thinking patterns.

Developed by Aaron Beck, the CBT cognitive model is founded on the principle that people’s thoughts and feelings are not determined by a situation, but by their interpretation and assumptions about that situation. These interpretations are often skewed as they can stem from dysfunctional core beliefs and lead to unnecessary emotional distress. CBT seeks to modify these dysfunctional beliefs and the resulting negative thoughts and behaviors, replacing them with more productive behavioral patterns.

The Goals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Identify distorted thinking patterns, negative automatic thoughts and negative core beliefs

• Build confidence in clients’ abilities to process and respond to negative thinking patterns consistently and effectively

• Help clients to apply these skills outside of therapy to cope with stressful life situations in a sustainable way

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Works

Licensed and trained therapists work collaboratively with clients on two main areas: strategies that have to do with the mind (cognitive) and those to do with behaviors (behavioral).

Therapeutic sessions focus on creating new thought processes using a variety of worksheets, exercises, and real-world exposures. Psychoeducation is often coupled with client homework to create a robust and highly effective treatment experience. Through this work, therapists can help clients identify and tackle the “thinking traps” they can get into, and the behavioral barriers that keep them feeling stuck.

By completing weekly sessions and weekly homework, clients are able to build a toolbox of coping strategies to create new and more adaptive cognitive and behavioral patterns.

Who Can Benefit from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help a large majority of clients including those who may experience any one or combination of the following:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Young Adults at The Dorm

Rather than processing past events, CBT focuses on what we can do in the present to improve our lives. Our clients at The Dorm appreciate that this is a short-term, results-driven therapy model that helps them quickly identify and cope with specific challenges, which means they see the positive impact more quickly and can build on that motivation to continue the work.

For clients managing the day-to-day challenges of independent living, CBT is an efficient model that quickly helps them counteract the automatic thoughts that contribute to emotional difficulties, self-esteem issues, depression and anxiety that might stand in the way of a client reaching their full potential.

With the support and guidance of a Dorm therapist, clients can immediately learn how to replace negative thoughts with more fact-based ones, and practice behavioral exposures to desensitize built-up fears. With time, clients build trust in themselves to effect change in their own lives, now and into the future.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - New York City | Washington, DC

We provide Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to young adult clients at all of our locations including The Dorm New York, NY and The Dorm Washington, DC.