Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is widely known to be an effective type of treatment for a variety of mental health issues.  

If you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, anxious, hopeless, or struggling with overthinking, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help. Our therapists at Shift Counseling, PC are all trained in CBT for anxiety, CBT for depression, and CBT for PTSD. Our therapists use a collaborative approach that leads to a decrease in mental health distress, and over time, improves feelings of empowerment for our clients.

What is CBT treatment and how can it help?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a more structured approach to therapy than regular talk therapy. While there is time to connect and process with your therapist, goals are also set for treatment (such as what issues you want to address, and what you want your life to look like at the end of therapy.) Your CBT therapist will help you learn about patterns of negative thinking, how to challenge irrational negative thoughts, how to see things more objectively, and how to find better ways of coping with stressors.

What makes the therapists at Shift Counseling, PC so effective at using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Our therapists are trained in using CBT therapy, but we also excel at adapting CBT to address the needs of our individual clients. This is not chatbot therapy, we are are not just following a set formula to treat your symptoms. Our CBT therapists are real people from diverse backgrounds, who will take the time to get to know you. Our therapists will help you unpack the layers of your stressors, set long term and short term goals, and make sure your therapy is actually working for YOU!

Why do the therapists at Shift Counseling, PC use CBT treatment?

Our CBT therapists love seeing our clients thrive! We also know that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy produces long term results for clients who truly engage with the process and change their habits. Our approach is not just about helping you feel better right now, it’s about making your future better as well.

OK, I am interested… how do I book a session?

The easiest way to book a session is to click the button above this text. All of our therapists are trained in using CBT treatment. You can see if we have availability that matches your scheduling needs. After you send your request our practice owner, Rebecca, will follow up with you within 2 business days. Rebecca will ask a few questions about your insurance, your availability, and your needs. She will check your insurance to see if we are in network for your policy, and give you an estimate for your out of pocket costs. Depending on your insurance, availability, and needs, Rebecca will schedule for the therapist that seems like the best fit for you. If it does not seem like our practice is a good fit for your needs, Rebecca will give you some suggestions for other services that may be a better fit. It’s that easy!

What doing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy actually looks like

In the beginning of CBT therapy, your therapist provides education to help you understand how the treatment works. We will help you see how negative thoughts contribute to unhealthy behavior patterns, prolonging negative mood states, which leads to more negative thinking. When we look at the full cycle, we recognize how the three factors of thoughts, mood, and behavior are often influencing each other.

Unfortunately, people can start to feel stuck and hopeless if they do not understand how to get out of a negative mood cycle. Feeling better is not as easy as wishing things would be different. After beginning CBT with a skilled therapist, you will start to better understand your patterns of negative thinking (cognitive distortions). You will gain clarity about what types of negative thoughts are leading to negative moods.

In time, you can also learn to challenge these negative thoughts and choose better coping skills, which will improve your mood. CBT treatment will help you get better at managing challenges, and you will learn to utilize these skills outside of session. Eventually you will learn to regulate your mood independently, which can lead to long lasting changes in life satisfaction.

It Starts with Building Trust with Your Therapist

Even with a structured approach like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, it is essential that you feel heard and understood by your therapist. We believe this starts at the beginning, so we make every effort to match you with a therapist who has experience in treating the types of concerns that are causing you distress. Whenever possible, we will also match you with a therapist who understands your culture and background. It can be really hard to let your defenses down and ask for help. However, if you feel understood by your therapist, it can be so much easier.

If you are seeking CBT therapy, you may have been told by others that you “need to change” in a way that might make you feel bad about yourself. This kind of feedback naturally makes people feel defensive and resistant. Therapy has to feel different. Yes, we will be working on helping you change, but in ways that feel right to you. Our therapists take judgment and shame out of the equation. When you feel supported, and the changes feel right for you, it makes sense that you will feel more motivated to make changes.

Our CBT counselors understand that letting go of old ways of thinking about stressors is hard. Throughout the process of challenging cognitive distortions, your therapist will be carefully monitoring the your responses. Your CBT therapist will make sure that they are not pushing too hard, too fast, or challenging negative beliefs that are helping you in some way. The changes you make in therapy must feel right and real to truly have a positive impact on your symptoms. 

CBT therapy can help you Gain Objectivity by Learning to Take a Step Back

A big part of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy will be learning to see things from different persectives. Your suffering may be in part due to emotional reasoning. We will help you learn that “Just because you think or feel it doesn’t mean it is true.” Don’t worry, CBT treatment is not about invalidating you, or telling you that every bad mood can be solved by simply “being positive” (we don’t do toxic positivity at Shift Counseling, PC.) CBT is about helping people see difficult situations differently and getting unstuck by decreasing the impact of emotional reasoning. 

CBT will also help you learn to recognize Behavior Patterns

Another key part of CBT therapy involves recognizing behavioral patterns. As you and your therapist explore your responses to difficult situations together, your therapist will also help you recognize the coping behaviors that might be making things worse. We will help you identify different ways of coping.

You will become more empowered as you gain a full understanding of these cycles, and what parts of the cycle you can change. You start to recognize that you have options and choices. You begin to feel unstuck. You realize you don’t have to keep dealing with problems the same way all of the time and you will no longer feeling stuck and hopeless. 

What about when negative thoughts are not actually cognitive distortions?

The reality is that negative experiences are part of our world, and not every negative thought is a cognitive distortion. Our CBT therapists often hear from clients who are trying hard to manage their mood by thinking positively, but they confess that they feel like they are gaslighting themselves. While our CBT therapists are motivated to help you find a positive outcome, we also recognize the value in holding space for negative emotions.

Our CBT counselors understand that pushing for a positive outcome too quickly can sometimes be counter-productive. For some people, finding a space to talk through and get validation of their negative feelings is a very important step in their recovery, and this part of the process cannot be skipped over. 

CBT therapists can help you see the Difference Between Fact and Fiction

A skilled Cognitive Behavioral Therapy counselor can help you accept when the reality of a situation may have some negative truth to it. However, even in these situations, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can still be helpful when the therapist recognizes and validates your difficult feelings. Sometimes even when a negative thought may be true, it may be partially true and not completely true. Or, the negative thought may be true sometimes but not all of the time. CBT treatment is not about forcing yourself to be positive all the time, it is about learning to be more objective when you recognize your thoughts are causing distress.

Even if your negative thoughts about a situation are grounded in reality, a CBT therapist can help you recognize how you are responding to this unfortunate truth, and make some decisions about if these responses are helpful or not. If your current responses are not helpful, your therapist can help you figure out different responses that might bring a different outcome. Recognizing what you are in control of and what you are not in control of is key. 

What if I’m already aware of cognitive distortions, I’m already using healthy coping skills, and I’m still struggling?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a great therapeutic modality, but you might need other tools to help with your symtpoms. Some other evidence-based strategies utilized by Shift Counseling, PC therapists include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness, and EMDR therapy.

ACT and Mindfulness can be helpful when a client chooses to address their depression by accepting current challenges, recognizing that these challenges are temporary, practicing staying in the current moment, and learning to be more compassionate with themselves and others.

EMDR therapy can help when you are experiencing PTSD or chronic mental health struggles. We often find that chronic mental health issues are the result of “little t” trauma (trauma that does not involve intense, acute, life-threatening experiences, but instead involves chronic struggles such as relational issues, chronic health issues, etc.) EMDR therapy can help people identify and process unresolved “little t” trauma that may be contributing to symptoms.

Begin CBT therapy online or in North Riverside, IL

All of our counselors at Shift Counseling, PC are trained in CBT and many have appointments available. We are in network with BCBS PPO, Blue Choice PPO, many commercial Aetna plans, and Cigna/Evernorth. Use the link below to see if we have appointments available that work for your schedule. We may be able to start your first appointment within a week! Our office is convenient to multiple areas of Chicagoland including Riverside, La Grange Park, Brookfield, Broadview, and more. If you’re ready to begin, just click below: