The Power of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

In my private Psychotherapy practice, one of the first questions I’m often approached with is “do you specialize in CBT?”

After informing them that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a cornerstone of my treatment model, I’ll ask them: “What’s your understanding of CBT and why does it interest you?”

… crickets. A blank stare. An uncomfortable silence.

It seems that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has become a trendy new clichè term to throw around a Psychotherapist’s office.

Most clients report having read about CBT in a magazine or overhearing something about it from their wealthy friend in the Hamptons.

The reality of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, however, is very different from the trendy self-help reputation its acquired through being casually written about in glossy magazines and tongue-and-cheek Brooklynite blogs.

So, what is CBT? Let’s start by exploring a Clinical Explanation of the treatment model:

The term cognitive comes from the Latin “cognoscere”, meaning “to recognize.” The point of cognitive behavioral therapy is to form a clear idea of your own thoughts, attitudes and expectations. The goal is to reveal and change false and distressing beliefs. Often, it is not only the objects, subjects and situations in life that cause us a problem, but it is also the importance that we attach to those objects, subjects and situations. Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Psychotherapeutic healthcare. Berlin: RKI; 2008. (Federal Health Reporting, Booklet 41).

For me, as a Clinical Psychotherapist, I’ve always viewed the CBT model as closely correlated to an “Integer Number Line” in Mathematics.

Regardless of the specific diagnosis, when a client presents to treatment they are often experiencing emotions which could be best described as distressing or “negative” — even if their daily level of function is perceived as normal by themselves or others.

The goal, as a CBT practitioner, is to help the client recognize that they are living “in the emotional negative” — while making efforts to assist them in their ascension to the more neutral and positive numbers.