Cognitive-behavioral therapy (C.B.T.) is a goal-oriented and evidence-based form of therapy that teaches people how to free themselves from negative patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that are self-defeating.  Scientific research has shown C.B.T. to be an effective treatment for a wide range of problems such as depression, anxiety, anger management issues, low self-esteem, social anxiety, panic attacks, and relationship problems.

Cognitive-behavioral helps people learn how their self-talk or way of thinking plays a significant role in shaping their emotions and behaviors.  By becoming aware of their negative self-talk, they can begin to identify and alter patterns of thinking that are self-defeating.

Created in the 1950s by the legendary Albert Ellis, rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) teaches clients to challenge their irrational thinking.

REBT is based on the simple idea that it is not external circumstances that make a person happy or unhappy, but rather internal thoughts about events or oneself. Thinking, feeling, and behavior are seen as linked and influencing one another.

Because changing one’s thinking is usually the simplest tactic in a given situation, it tends to be the focus of therapy, alongside the humanistic core REBT philosophies of unconditional self-acceptance, unconditional other-acceptance, and unconditional life-acceptance.

The Exposure in ERP refers to exposing yourself to the thoughts, images, objects and situations that make you anxious and/or start your obsessions. While the Response Prevention part of ERP, refers to making a choice not to do a compulsive behavior once the anxiety or obsessions have been “triggered.” All of this is done under the guidance of a therapist at the beginning — though you will eventually learn to do your own ERP exercises to help manage your symptoms.

That said, this strategy of purposefully exposing yourself to things that make you anxious may not sound quite right to you. If you have OCD, you have probably tried to confront your obsessions and anxiety many times only to see your anxiety skyrocket. With ERP, the difference is that when you make the choice to confront your anxiety and obsessions you must also make a commitment to not give in and engage in the compulsive behavior. When you don’t do the compulsive behaviors, over time you will actually feel a drop in your anxiety level. This natural drop in anxiety that happens when you stay “exposed” and “prevent” the compulsive “response” is called habituation.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) focuses on high-risk, tough-to-treat patients. These patients often have multiple diagnoses.  DBT was initially designed to treat people with suicidal behavior and borderline personality disorder. But it has been adapted for other mental health problems that threaten a person’s safety, relationships, work, and emotional well-being.

The term “dialectical” comes from the idea that bringing together two opposites in therapy — acceptance and change — brings better results than either one alone.

A unique aspect of DBT is its focus on acceptance of a patient’s experience as a way for therapists to reassure them — and balance the work needed to change negative behaviors.

Comprehensive DBT focuses on four ways to enhance life skills:

• Distress tolerance: Feeling intense emotions like anger without reacting impulsively or using self-injury or substance abuse to dampen distress.
• Emotion regulation: Recognizing, labeling, and adjusting emotions.
• Mindfulness: Becoming more aware of self and others and attentive to the present moment.
• Interpersonal effectiveness: Navigating conflict and interacting assertively.

Solution focused therapies are founded on the rationale that there are exceptions to every problem and through examining these exceptions and having a clear vision of a preferred future, client and counselor, together, can generate ideas for solutions. Therapists are competency and future focused. They highlight and utilize client strengths to enable a more effective future.

Solution focused practice emerged with the idea that solutions may rest within the individual and his or her social network. As postmodernism sparked questions about the superiority of the therapist’s position and the idea of a universal truth, the therapeutic relationship began to transform – the client now recognized as the expert in his or her own life. This created a more collaborative approach to counseling (Bertolino & O’Hanlon, 2002) and established a context in which solution focused practice could flourish.

Key concepts of Solution-Focused Therapy are illustrated by techniques, including: basic assumptions; the miracle question; exception questions; scaling questions and; presupposing change.

Restorative Practices is an emerging social science that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities.  All humans are hardwired to connect. Just as we need food, shelter and clothing, human beings also need strong and meaningful relationships to thrive.

Hypnosis, also referred to as hypnotherapy or hypnotic suggestion, is a trance-like state in which you have heightened focus and concentration. Hypnosis is usually done with the help of a therapist using verbal repetition and mental images. When you’re under hypnosis, you usually feel calm and relaxed, and are more open to suggestions.

Hypnosis can be used to help you gain control over undesired behaviors or to help you cope better with anxiety or pain. It’s important to know that although you’re more open to suggestion during hypnosis, you don’t lose control over your behavior.

Your therapist will explain the process of hypnosis and review your treatment goals. Then the therapist will typically talk in a gentle, soothing tone and describe images that create a sense of relaxation, security and well-being.  When you’re in a receptive state, the therapist will suggest ways for you to achieve your goals, such as reducing pain or eliminating cravings to smoke. The therapist may also help you visualize vivid, meaningful mental images of yourself accomplishing your goals.  When the session is over, either you are able to bring yourself out of hypnosis or your therapist helps you end your state of relaxation.

Contrary to how hypnosis is sometimes portrayed in movies or on television, you don’t lose control over your behavior while under hypnosis. Also, you generally remain aware of and remember what happens during hypnosis.

The idea behind biofeedback is that, by harnessing the power of your mind and becoming aware of what’s going on inside your body, you can gain more control over your health.

Biofeedback promotes relaxation, which can help relieve a number of conditions that are related to stress.

During a biofeedback session, electrodes are attached to your skin. Finger sensors can also be used. These electrodes/sensors send signals to a monitor, which displays a sound, flash of light, or image that represents your heart and breathing rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, sweating, or muscle activity.

When you’re under stress, these functions change. Your heart rate speeds up, your muscles tighten, your blood pressure rises, you start to sweat, and your breathing quickens. You can see these stress responses as they happen on the monitor, and then get immediate feedback as you try to stop them. Biofeedback sessions are typically done in a therapist’s office, but there are computer programs that connect the biofeedback sensor to your own computer.

A biofeedback therapist helps you practice relaxation exercises, which you fine-tune to control different body functions. For example, you might use a relaxation technique to turn down the brainwaves that activate when you have a headache.

Family systems therapy is a form of psychotherapy that helps individuals resolve their problems in the context of their family units, where many issues are likely to begin. Each family member works together with the others to better understand their group dynamic and how their individual actions affect each other and the family unit as a whole. One of the most important premises of family systems therapy is that what happens to one member of a family happens to everyone in the family.  To understand the family system, the family must be viewed as a whole, and that what defines a family is more than the people who make it up but also how they interact with each other to create a unique family dynamic.

During family systems therapy, the family works individually and together to resolve a problem that directly affects one or more family members. Each family member has the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings about how they are affected. Together, the family works to help the individual in distress and to help relieve the strain on the family. Family members explore their individual roles within the family, learn how to switch roles, if necessary, and learn ways to support and help each other with the goal of restoring family relationships and rebuilding a healthy family system.

Mindfulness-based programs are designed to train individuals to cultivate mindfulness and incorporate its practice into daily life. Mindfulness has been defined as “paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally

Mindfulness based therapy techniques represent a revolutionary innovation in cognitive-behavioral therapy, incorporating elements of Buddhist mindfulness meditation techniques into traditional cognitive-behavioral interventions. These techniques focus on awareness of thoughts and feelings without attachment or judgment. Examples of mindfulness-based therapies include Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. The latest research indicates these treatments can be more effective than traditional talk therapy in treating a host of problems and disorders. These include depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and relationship issues, to name a few. 

The core of ACT is a change in both internal (self-talk) and external (action) verbal behavior. Simply observing oneself having feelings and recognizing and accepting that feelings are a natural outgrowth of circumstances is freeing. Clients have feelings about feelings (e.g., they might be ashamed of being anxious, angry, or sad). ACT says that fighting emotions makes them worse.

ACT focuses on a shift from the content of experience to the context of experience. Hayes (2005) describes six core processes of ACT: acceptance, cognitive defusion, being present, self as context, valuing, and committed action.