Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Atlanta

cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy in Atlanta, also known as CBT therapy, is something more and more people are interested in and asking about. There is good reason for this. It is a highly effective therapy approach.

As the field of psychology is ever evolving, more therapeutic approaches are emerging. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one type of psychological treatment and approach that originated in the 1960s. Given how effective it is, it is still widely practiced today.  The psychologists at Best Within You Therapy & Wellness integrative cognitive behavioral therapy into their approaches or use CBT therapy as a primary treatment approach.

What is cognitive behavioral therapy?

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a treatment method that is effective for a range of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, sleep, eating disorders, pain, substance use, and more (APA, 2022). The core principle is that thoughts create feelings which create behaviors which then can reinforce the original thoughts (Gelso, 2014). As such, the main idea is that by targeting unhelpful thoughts unwanted behaviors can be reduced or eliminated. If you haven’t attended cognitive behavioral therapy in Atlanta before, you may not know there are many tools that can be used during sessions to help change the way you think. Then, by doing this you can feel better and your behaviors can also change.

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Atlanta Helps

Seen as one of the most effective forms of treatment, let’s break down what cognitive behavioral therapy is and how it helps.

Usually in cognitive behavioral therapy, the therapist takes a more directive role with their clients while also aiming to establish a good and trusting therapeutic relationship. The client and the therapist establish specific, measurable and actionable goals early on. So, if you are someone who likes goals and seeing progress, this approach can feel like a great fit.

CBT therapy has more of a focus on presenting symptoms rather than diving in deeply and intensely analyzing past history. While some therapy approaches focus on young childhood and spend a lot of time exploring this, CBT therapy uses the past to inform the present and focuses the work on the present.

With cognitive behavioral therapy in Atlanta you may get short homework assignments. Since therapy is only once a week, this homework can help reinforce or practice the new areas you are learning. If you do not want homework, that is ok, you can just let your therapist know this.

CBT for anxiety

Strengths and weakness of CBT

While we are a fan of cognitive behavioral therapy in Atlanta, we want to provide you with information about strengths and weaknesses of this approach. The main weakness of CBT and criticism is that if you only address presenting symptoms rather than the root cause, if someone is facing a deep underlying issue it may not be resolved. At our practice we do not ONLY do CBT for this reason.

It is important to be careful if you are seeing an Atlanta CBT therapist that they do not just follow from a workbook. We believe everyone is more unique and therapy should be more personalized than following a step by step workbook. All of our therapists are trained in other approaches through 5 years of post college education and then continuing education credits. Everyone is able to use a more integrative or dynamic lens if we feel there is a deep underlying childhood or past issue that should be addressed. We recognize each person is unique and always tailor treatment.

A major strength is that cognitive behavioral therapy can be short-term and you are able to see changes in a shorter period of time than other therapy approaches. Another strength is that it is heavily research supported with many studies showing the effectiveness of this therapy approach. For example, a very large study showed CBT is one of the most effective forms of therapy for treating anxiety disorders. A 2009 meta-analysis showed that cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders in as little as 8 sessions, regardless of whether the client took medication or not (Stewart & Chambless, 2009).

 

Specific tools of CBT

Again, we always want you to know therapy will be tailored towards you. Here are some potential examples of CBT tools used in therapy. There are hundreds of books filled with tools and many graduate classes that we learn from them takes years, so know this is just a sample.

Systematic Desensitization

The basic premise of desensitization is to pair gradually more and more anxiety-provoking events with effective relaxation techniques to eventually eliminate anxiety. First, the client is asked to construct a fear hierarchy. For example, a client that has social anxiety may have a fear hierarchy that looks like this:

Situation Fear Ranking (1-10)
Walk around a crowded mall 3
Start a conversation with a stranger 5
Go to a party 7
Ask someone out on a date 8
Give a speech in front of 100 people  10

Then, the therapist teaches the client various relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, or mindfulness exercises. Once the client has learned these techniques, the therapist will guide them through their fear hierarchy in order to pair relaxation techniques with increasingly more anxiety inducing situations. Over time, the goal is that the client will be able to effectively use these relaxation techniques on their own even in the most anxious situations.

Participant Modeling

This technique requires the therapist to model desired behaviors, followed by the client imitating these responses. Participant modeling is conducted in a gradual fashion within sessions. Participant modeling rests on the assumption that behavior is learned through observation. For example, if a client is afraid of spiders and sees the therapist panic and scream when they see a spider, the client’s response to spiders will likely be similar. However, if the client sees the therapist react in a calm manner, the goal is that they will mimic this modeled behavior.

Modeling and role playing are also used to help clients gain more confidence in situations. For example, a therapist may model what to say to a friend that upset the client or a boss when they are wanting a promotion. The therapist and client may also role play a feared situation in session to help the client gain confidence in facing this situation. Working through this in the therapy space with a CBT Atlanta therapist will help you to gain more confidence on your own.

Thought Record

A thought record is another common technique. With a thought record, a client will be able to recognize patterns of unhelpful thinking. They then are able to evaluate the evidence of their thoughts and how these thoughts impact feelings. Self statements are used that clients can repeat to themselves instead of saying the initial anxiety provoking statement. You will be able to have a tool box of statements you can say to yourself to help you feel better.

It is important to note that with all cognitive behavioral therapy treatments, the client is very much in control. If the client does not feel comfortable with any particular treatment approach or speed of treatment, the therapist will listen and fit the treatment around their needs.

CBT Therapy in Atlanta Helps

In summary, cognitive behavioral therapy is a widely researched and accepted form of treatment for a range of concerns. CBT has been shown to be effective for anxiety, phobias, depression, sleep, relationships, trauma, eating disorders, and more. Cognitive behavioral therapy in Atlanta can help you to achieve tangible results!

With a range of treatment options available and a search of cognitive behavioral therapy Atlanta that will give you many therapists, we want you to know a few things about working with us. 1) We all have a doctorate degree, which is the highest education you can receive as a mental health therapist. There are years of training that went into our work before seeing clients.  2) We also want you to know we will always tailor therapy fit your needs and comfort level in order to reduce your presenting symptoms. 3) You can feel better than you are right at this moment. Trust the part of you that is reading this right now that you are in the right place.

If you are looking for CBT therapy in Atlanta, you can schedule a free consultation with one of our clinicians.

Contact Us