Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in Mclean, Falls church, Arlington, Vienna

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an active, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that has been shown to be highly effective in treating children, adolescents, and adults with a wide range of emotional and behavioral concerns including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (e.g., postpartum depression), sleep, and relationship problems.

CBT is a practical approach that will help you change the patterns of thinking or behavior that are causing you problems. The main idea behind CBT is that thoughts influence how we feel and act. How we act can in turn also affect how we think and feel in a given situation. Unhelpful thoughts can thus lead to unhealthy behaviors and feelings. CBT helps you to understand and break this cycle. 

For example, a teen who is depressed might think, "Everything is hopeless," or "There's no point to anything I do." Emotionally, these thoughts may occur with feelings of sadness, depression, apathy, and lack of motivation. Behaviorally, the depression may appear as a lack of participation in usual hobbies or activities, or refusal to attend school. In turn, this may lead to more negative thoughts and feelings over time. Treatment would involve teaching the teen to identify and challenge negative thoughts, skills to cope with depressed mood (e.g., activity scheduling), and working with parents to develop a reinforcement system to encourage positive behaviors and use of coping strategies. CBT is highly collaborative, practical, and goal oriented. 

Skills taught in CBT include:

• Cognitive restructuring

• Behavioral activation

• Social skills training

• Communication training

• Relaxation training

• Problem solving

CBT is evidence-based

CBT is an evidence-based treatment. This means that it has been proven to be safe and effective through rigorously conducted scientific and clinical research involving thousands of patients and careful comparison of effects to alternative treatments.

Evidence-based treatments can increase the chance that problems are treated effectively, and that gains are maintained following treatment, reducing the risk of problems reoccuring in the future.

You are not alone. we can help.

At hope+wellness, we provide exceptional psychotherapy services to empower people to live happier, healthier lives. Our services are grounded in evidence-based treatments that suggest an important interconnectedness between mind, body, life experience, and wellness, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based therapies. Our office is located in Falls Church, Virginia. We serve the McLean, Great Falls, Falls Church, Arlington, Alexandria, and the greater Washington DC region. We will work together to help you heal and develop the skills to live fully aware, fully resilient, fully peaceful, mindful, and alive.