Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a well-supported approach that helps you understand how your thoughts, beliefs, and actions interact to shape your experience. Instead of seeing thoughts as the literal truth or emotions as something to suppress, CBT teaches you to notice patterns, test assumptions, and make small adjustments that reduce unnecessary suffering.
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CBT isn’t about “thinking positive.” It’s about discovering which thoughts and behaviors are actually helping you, and which are keeping you stuck, and then learning practical strategies for change.
What CBT Helps With
CBT is effective for a wide range of concerns because all of these involve patterns of thinking, reacting, and avoiding:
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Anxiety (worry, rumination, future-focused fear)
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Panic and avoidance behavior
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Perfectionism and self-criticism
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Depression or low mood
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Emotional reactivity
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Shame and internal pressure
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Avoidance cycles (e.g., social, emotional, or decision avoidance)
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Low confidence or self-doubt
In essence, CBT helps you notice automatic patterns that keep problems alive and equips you with tools to respond differently — in ways that work better in your real life.
Common Misunderstandings with CBT
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There are a few misconceptions that keep people from accessing what CBT has to offer:
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CBT is not “just positive thinking.”
It’s not about forcing optimism or ignoring how hard things feel. It’s about noticing patterns that aren’t serving you and testing whether they’re true or helpful.
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CBT isn’t rigid or one-size-fits-all.
When done well, it is flexible and adapted to your needs. There are core principles, but how they show up looks different for everyone.
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CBT doesn’t mean you have to analyze every thought.
It’s about recognizing key patterns and building alternatives that feel believable and useful- not about chasing every stray thought.
How I Integrate CBT Into My Trauma-Informed, Nervous-System-Aware Work
I use CBT as one part of a broader, tailored approach. CBT is powerful when your nervous system has enough capacity and safety to engage with patterns without overwhelming you. When working with trauma, anxiety, depression, or burnout, CBT is most effective when integrated with:
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Somatic & nervous system work: because thinking alone isn’t enough if the body remains in stress response
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Mindfulness and present-moment awareness: to notice patterns without judgment
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Values clarification (ACT elements): so shifts aren’t just intellectual but meaningful
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Parts-informed conversations (IFS-informed): to reduce internal conflict and self-criticism
In other words, CBT is a toolbox we use when it fits your current goals and capacity, not a rigid protocol we force on every issue.
What CBT Is (and Isn't) Helpful For
CBT can be especially useful when:
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You’re noticing unhelpful thought patterns that fuel anxiety, self-criticism, or low mood
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You want practical, strategy-focused tools you can use between sessions
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You’re ready to learn skills that support flexibility, choice, and follow-through
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You’re curious about how thoughts, behaviors, and emotions interact
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You’ve gained insight in the past but haven’t seen lasting change
At the same time, CBT isn’t always the best place to begin.
If your nervous system is highly activated, depleted, or stuck in a freeze or shutdown state, it can be very difficult to engage with thoughts in a meaningful way. In those moments, asking yourself to “think differently” may feel frustrating, invalidating, or simply impossible- not because you’re resistant, but because your system doesn’t yet have the capacity.
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When this is the case, we start by supporting regulation and safety first. This might mean focusing on nervous system stabilization, somatic support, or emotion regulation skills so your body feels steadier and more resourced. Once there’s more capacity, CBT tools tend to land more naturally and feel genuinely useful rather than forced.
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This sequencing matters. Therapy works best when the approach matches where your system is, not where it’s "supposed" to be.
How does CBT related to Trauma Work, such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)?
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a trauma-focused approach that grew out of CBT and is designed to help people examine how traumatic experiences shape beliefs about safety, trust, control, responsibility, and self-worth. I draw from CPT principles when trauma is part of your history and when your nervous system has enough capacity to engage in this kind of work.
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I do not follow rigid protocols or rush trauma processing. When CPT-informed work is used, it is integrated thoughtfully and paced carefully, alongside nervous system regulation and emotional safety. For some clients, CBT-based trauma work is helpful; for others, we focus first (or entirely) on stabilization and regulation.
Real-World CBT Applications for High-Functioning Adults
​In my practice, I've found that high-achieving individuals often benefit from CBT techniques specifically adapted to their unique challenges. For instance, we might work on:
Reframing perfectionist thoughts that create impossible standards and chronic dissatisfaction. Together, we'll explore the difference between healthy striving and destructive perfectionism, developing more flexible standards that allow for both excellence and self-compassion
Challenging impostor syndrome by examining evidence of your competence and achievements, while developing a more balanced view of both strengths and areas for growth. This work helps you internalize your successes rather than dismissing them as luck or fooling others.
Addressing productivity anxiety by questioning beliefs about worth being tied to output, exploring what "enough" looks like, and developing cognitive flexibility around rest and recovery as essential components of sustainable success.
Managing social and professional anxiety through cognitive restructuring combined with behavioral experiments that gradually expand your comfort zone while building confidence in your ability to handle challenging situations.
What to Learn More?
If you’re curious about how CBT or other evidence-based approaches might support you, I invite you to explore the other educational pages linked from my My Approach section. Each page explains a different part of the therapeutic toolkit and how it might show up in your work together.
If you are interested in working with me, the first step is scheduling a free 20-minute consultation where you can ask questions and get a better sense of my style. Therapist fit is important, and I want clients to be able to have a space to understand my approach before getting started.