CBT, one of the most researched and empirically-validated forms of therapy, owes its popularity to its common sense and clear principles.  CBT takes a structured approach to exploring the connection between your thoughts- feelings- and behaviours. It has been proven to be effective in increasing self-awareness and helping people cope with a variety of psychological issues, like depression, anxiety and many of the tangles we find ourselves in in relationships.  

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Cognitive strategies aim to disrupt the automatic, self-critical way we tend to talk to ourselves, whereas behavioural strategies strive to bring more intentional action to habitual patterns that may not be working well (or even reinforcing negative beliefs!) 

While CBT was held to be the gold standard approach for decades, it does have its limitations.  Many of my clients have found CBT to be very helpful in better understanding themselves and their situations, and some, especially those who have experienced trauma, require a broader approach to shift their affect or physiological responses.  

Together we will look at how changing your mindset and your habits can have a positive impact on your life.

Environmental Context

All the experiences that you've had in your life that have shaped you as a person. 

Feelings

Physiological Reactions

Behaviours

Thoughts

Let's look at how this applies to a real life situation. 

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Situation: After months of looking for a new job, you get an interview  

- You didn't get the last job you applied for 

- You've been hired from within your network before and haven't done many interviews 

- You got a bad performance review 10 years ago

Environmental 

Context

Automatic

Thoughts

- What if......(insert all kinds of horrible scenarios) 

Physiological Response

- Restless and agitated, can't sleep, sweating, tension in your shoulders, 

feel like you're going to throw up 

Feelings

Anxious and worried

Behaviour

- Research the company for hours 

- Practice all the potential interview questions

- Consider asking to reschedule for next week

so you can spend more time preparing 

Automatic

Thoughts

- I'm not that interesting and suck at interviews 

- I'm not going to get this job, so what's the point of even trying? 

- Avoid thinking about it all together 

- Distract yourself with a lot of TV, comfort eating and maybe even drinking more than you usually do...

Behaviour

Show up to the interview, tired, hungover and unprepared.  Don't get the job 

Results: 

Automatic

Thoughts

I knew it. 

(reinforcing all the initial beliefs) 

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CBT, one of the most researched and empirically-validated forms of therapy, owes its popularity to its common sense and clear principles.  CBT takes a structured approach to exploring the connection between your thoughts- feelings- and behaviours. It has been proven to be effective in increasing self-awareness and helping people cope with a variety of psychological issues, like depression, anxiety and many of the tangles we find ourselves in in relationships.  

​

Cognitive strategies aim to disrupt the automatic, self-critical way we tend to talk to ourselves, whereas behavioural strategies strive to bring more intentional action to habitual patterns that may not be working well (or even reinforcing negative beliefs!) 

While CBT was held to be the gold standard approach for decades, it does have its limitations.  Many of my clients have found CBT to be very helpful in better understanding themselves and their situations, and some, especially those who have experienced trauma, require a broader approach to shift their affect or physiological responses.  

Together we will look at how changing your mindset and your habits can have a positive impact on your life.