Our therapists offer cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in Nottingham, MD

When helping people in cognitive behavioral therapy, I assist the clients in understanding that they can learn to challenge and change negative messages through CBT approaches. I find the best benefit in first identifying the negative messages they believe and using cognitive restructuring strategies to help change their thinking and behaviors because it allows the clients to learn that they truly are in control over their feelings and beliefs.

The tools that are addressed in cognitive behavioral therapy focus on cognitive restructuring strategies and then applying those techniques to help change behaviors that have been harmful to their emotional well-being.

When a client is in therapy and has been using techniques through CBT, they begin to demonstrate meaningful progress by being able to recognize and even stop negative thinking patterns, which results in an improvement in mood. The clients can verbalize in therapy and provide examples where they were more in tune with their thoughts and how they directly impacted their behaviors.

Clients can supplement their time in cognitive behavioral therapy with the use of journaling to be able to reflect on feelings as well as through engaging in self-care and mindfulness strategies to help manage symptoms.

To prepare for their first cognitive behavioral therapy session, an individual can begin by first identifying a few goals they want to work on, as well as possibly some negative behaviors or beliefs they are experiencing that can be specifically addressed during the therapeutic process.