Cognitive Behavioral Therapy San Diego
Are your thoughts and behaviors making you happy?
Would you like some relief from anxiety or depression?
Let’s discuss whether cognitive behavioral therapy is right for you.
At Inward Healing Therapy, I use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to teach people how to recognize and modify damaging or distressing thinking patterns that hurt their behavior and emotions. Your perception of what is happening is more powerful than any event that happens to you! In our online therapy sessions, we’ll focus on modifying and replacing your negative ideas with objective, positive, and realistic thinking.
Countless individuals in San Diego and throughout California have benefited from CBT. Numerous studies indicate that CBT improves functionality and quality of life significantly. CBT has been shown in several trials to be as successful as, if not more effective than, other types of psychological treatment or psychiatric drugs. It is critical to note that gains in CBT have been accomplished via both research and therapeutic practice. Indeed, CBT is therapy with substantial empirical evidence that the processes developed to result in transformation. In this regard, CBT differs from many other methods of psychological treatment.
What can CBT Help with?
CBT was initially used to treat depression but it has been discovered that CBT is beneficial in a variety of situations, including eating disorders, anxiety, addictions, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), persistent pain, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and conduct disorders, such as aggression in adolescents.
According to research, the abilities acquired during CBT are long-lasting and may be employed in various aspects of an individual’s life. For example, approximately 60% of patients treated for a drug use issue using cognitive behavioral therapy can maintain their recovery for a year.
Treat Your Depression
Cognitive-behavioral therapy has been scientifically demonstrated to be beneficial in treating depression. We’ll use journaling to help you record your thoughts. We’ll break down those thoughts and use mindful meditation for cognitive restructuring.
Reduce Your Social Anxiety
If you suffer from social anxiety disorder (SAD), you’ve undoubtedly been told to “think positive.” Unfortunately, the remedy is not so simple; if it were, you would have likely overcome your anxiety long ago. Because your brain is predisposed to think negatively, it must be progressively educated to think otherwise. Given your existing mindset, simply promising yourself, “I’ll be less worried next time” isn’t going to cut it. Learning to modify these ideas can assist you in feeling less apprehensive in social situations. Long-term change of automatic negative thinking involves effort and repetition until it becomes automatic and habitual. Memory processes and neural networks in your brain will alter throughout time. As a result, you’ll notice a shift in how you think, behave, and feel.
Become More Mindful
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a style of psychotherapy that properly combines meditation, cognitive therapy, and the development of a present-oriented, nonjudgmental attitude known as “mindfulness.” Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy expands on cognitive therapy principles by teaching people to consciously pay attention to their thoughts and feelings without passing judgment on them. Techniques such as mindfulness meditation are used to teach people to consciously pay attention to their feelings and thoughts without passing judgment on them. As part of MBCT, we may use the following mindfulness practices:
Meditation: People can practice guided or self-directed meditation to become more aware of their bodies, thoughts, and breathing.
Body scan exercise: This entails laying down and directing awareness and attention to various parts of the body. People normally start at their toes and work their way up till they reach the top of their head.
- Mindfulness stretching: Stretching thoughtfully helps to bring awareness to both the body and mind in this action.
The CBT Process
Identifying Your Negative Thoughts
It’s critical to understand how ideas, feelings, and events may all contribute to maladaptive behavior. The approach might be difficult, especially for persons who struggle with introspection, but it can ultimately lead to self discovery and insights, critical components of the therapeutic process.
Goal-Setting
Setting goals may be crucial in recovering from mental illness and making adjustments to enhance your health and life. A therapist may assist with goal-setting skills during CBT by teaching you how to define your objective, differentiate between short- and long-term goals, develop SMART goals, and focus on the process as much as the ultimate result.
Problem-Solving
Learning problem-solving skills may assist you in identifying and resolving issues that emerge as a result of both large and small life pressures and reduce the negative impact of psychological and physical sickness.
Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring, via journaling, is a crucial component of CBT that entails charting behaviors, symptoms, or experiences over time and discussing them with your therapist. Journaling can assist your therapist in getting the information they need to provide the best therapy. For example, self-monitoring may entail noting eating behaviors and any thoughts or sensations associated with consuming that meal or snack for persons dealing with eating disorders.
It would be a privilege to help you!
If you or someone you know would benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, please contact me today. I would be happy to speak with you about how I may be able to help with my online cognitive behavioral therapy in San Diego, CA.
If you have any further questions, feel free to check out my FAQ page for more information.
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