You suffer from anxiety symptoms.
Depression is making it hard for you to function.
Low self-esteem negatively impacting your life, your happiness, and your success.
Sometimes, you feel stressed or angry.
Life would be happier if you could get rid of the thoughts or behaviors that are holding you back.
If these statements sound like you, then Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help you feel better!
CBT is powerful and has the ability to create lasting change in your life. During counseling, you will learn how your thoughts affect your behavior. CBT works on the basis that the way we think and interpret life’s events affects how we behave and, ultimately, how we feel.
In CBT we identify the unhelpful thoughts that impact your feelings, decisions, and actions. Then. we challenge these in a safe and non-judgmental way. For example, you may have trouble overcoming self-esteem issues. So some ways we would challenge your negative beliefs would be to ask you questions like: “Why do you think no one likes you? Is this thought true? You’re anxious about going to the work event because you’re worried no one wants you there. You think this because your co-worker never answered your email. Is this thought productive? Is there another reason why they never answered your email?” In counseling, we will discuss thoughts like these and challenge them, then we will try to come up with thoughts that are more accurate or plausible.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a useful tool to address emotional challenges. For example, it may help you:
- Manage symptoms of mental health issue
- Prevent a relapse of mental illness symptoms
- Treat mental health symptoms when medications aren’t a good option
- Learn techniques for coping with stressful life situations
- Identify ways to manage emotions
- Resolve relationship conflicts and learn better ways to communicate
- Cope with grief or loss
- Overcome emotional trauma related to abuse or violence
- Cope with a medical illness• Manage chronic physical symptoms
CBT provides you with a greater understanding of the way you think. Then, you can train your brain to think differently. After therapy, your beliefs will better reflect the actual reality around you and your positive self-image. CBT helps you become aware of untrue or negative thinking so you can view challenging situations more clearly. This allows you to respond to them in a better way.
During the course of CBT, you can learn to:
• identify problems
• develop an awareness of automatic thoughts
• challenge underlying assumptions that may be wrong
• learn the difference between facts and irrational thoughts
• understand how past experience can affect present feelings and beliefs
• stop fearing the worst
• see a situation from a different perspective
• better understand other people’s actions and motivations
• develop a more positive way of thinking
• become more aware of your mood
• establish attainable goals
• avoid generalizations and all-or-nothing thinking
• stop taking the blame for everything
• focus on how things are rather than how you think they should be
• face your fears rather than avoid them
• describe, accept, and understand, rather than judge yourself or others
Ultimately, the goal of cognitive behavior therapy is to teach you that while you cannot control every aspect of the world around you, you can take control of how you interpret and deal with things in your environment. I want to help ease your suffering, help you solve your problems, and help you live a healthier, happier life.
If you’d like me to show you firsthand how CBT can dramatically improve your life, please contact me today for an appointment.
Begin CBT in Bloomington, IL today!
If you are ready to overcome the challenges in your life and become a more positive thinker, then CBT can help. I provide counseling in the Bloomington, IL area, and online therapy in Illinois. To get started, please follow these steps:
- Contact Bridge to Hope Counseling, LCC Online or by calling (309)455-5703
- Talk with me for a free consultation to ask your questions and make sure my personality and approach will be a good fit.
- Begin facing your anxiety, learning how to cope with those anxious thoughts, and find a new way of living with a healthier mindset!
Other Services Offered at Bridge to Hope Counseling:
In addition to offering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), I offer a variety of other counseling services in my Bloomington, IL counseling clinic. Also, I offer all counseling services via online therapy in Illinois. My mental health services include counseling for anxiety, depression therapy, LGBTQIA+ affirming counseling, counseling for college students, therapy for poor self-esteem, and counseling for life transitions. I also write blog articles on timely mental health issues. Please contact me today to learn more about the many ways I can help you live your life to the fullest!