Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is widely considered to be the frontline treatment for managing a variety of issues that include but are not limited to anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms, stress-related disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. CBT is a mode of talk therapy based on core principles that emotional and psychological issues stem from unhelpful thought patterns and learned maladaptive behaviors.
CBT aims to help individuals cope with challenges in their lives by examining the relationship between their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Individuals are guided to identify their own cognitive distortions and build a toolkit of strategies to challenge and reframe their thoughts and beliefs. Cognitive distortions may look like all-or-nothing thinking, catastrophizing, overgeneralization, and mindreading. Through structured exercises that are practiced both in and outside of session, individuals learn to shift their perspectives, greatly increase their capacity for coping, and create improvements in their quality of life.