CBT in Orange County, CA

Change the way you think, change the way you live

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Online therapy for CBT in California and Florida

Negative thinking doesn’t have to keep you stuck

Are you someone who…

Constantly feels like a failure or inadequate
Is always expecting the worst case scenario
Believes they cannot get the things they want
Thinks that others think negatively of them

CBT can help you see yourself more accurately

What is CBT?

CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the belief that situations do not necessarily make us feel one way or another. It is the belief that how we THINK about a situation causes us to feel an emotion which then leads to behaviors and potential consequences.

For example, Imagine that you interviewed for a job and were not the chosen candidate. You could think, “I tried my best. Now I know the interview questions for next time. I should ask for feedback on how to improve”. You may still feel disappointed in this situation, reasonably so. You are likely to engage in behaviors such as continuing to apply, asking for feedback and beefing up your interview skills or resume. This could lead to positive consequences.

OR…

In the same situation you could think, “I am such a fucking failure. I can’t do anything right. I shouldn’t even bother. No one is going to hire me”. This will likely lead to feeling disappointed AND significant shame and hopelessness. Potential behaviors could include isolating and ceasing to apply for this position in the future. Potential consequences here include not getting the job you want and anxiety about future job interviews along with perpetuating beliefs about being a failure.

In using CBT, you would learn how to identify and challenge (or accept, with a caveat of remembering you can improve and learn) these negative thoughts that are causing negative emotions.

If you are someone who often has negative thoughts about yourself or the future, CBT can help you look at those thoughts more accurately. With CBT, we will probe to find out what thoughts you experienced when something occurred. Sometimes these thoughts are unconscious. By pointing a spotlight on thinking about those thoughts, we can identify those automatic thoughts you had and then put them under a microscope to check the validity of those thoughts.

We often find that we speak so much more harshly to ourselves than we ever would to a friend or loved one. One great rule of thumb to consider, if you wouldn’t think this or say this to a friend, then it likely isn’t okay to think this or say this to yourself.

In CBT, we are looking to see if you are experiencing any distorted thoughts. Have you ever gone into a carnival maze with those funny mirrors that make you really, really tall or really, really wide? Those are mirrors and they are distorted. Sometimes are thoughts are like those distorted thoughts. With CBT, we are looking to uncover these distorted thoughts and replace them with more realistic thoughts. In doing so, we reduce unnecessary worry and distress.

How a typical CBT session might go…

1) Identify a situation that was upsetting to you

2) Identify the negative feelings that you experienced from this situation

3) Explored what automatic thoughts you had about this situation

4) Examine if any of these thoughts are distorted by looking at the list of cognitive distortions (this will be taught in session)

5) Identify a more realistic thought to replace any of the distorted thoughts identified

6) Re-evaluate what feelings you experience from reading your new realistic thoughts that replaced the distorted thoughts

7) Celebrate feeling better and learning how to challenge distorted thoughts.

What can CBT do for you…

● Improve self-confidence

● Increase willingness to go after goals (be unstuck)

● Improve awareness of your thoughts

● Increase positive thinking

It’s possible to break free from negative thinking

FAQs

CBT is an evidenced based therapy that focuses on identifying your thoughts. Often we tend to think negatively and this leads to negative emotions, behaviors and consequences. If we can change our thinking to be more realistic, we can have more positive emotions, behaviors and consequences.
With CBT, we would look at what thoughts you experience when an upsetting situation occurs to see if any of the thought are distorted. If they are, we replace them with more realistic, accurate thoughts. I like to think of this as playing a lawyer in which we argue against the negative thought. We often find improved mood when we have more realistic thoughts.
Catch it, Check it, Change it
A: There is some overlap between DBT and CBT however DBT includes more.

CBT focused on becoming aware that your thoughts about a situation contribute to how you feel about a situation and then lead you to behave a particular way which may produce positive or negative consequences. CBT is ALL about how you think. For those who experience a lot of negative thinking, CBT can be ideal
However, with DBT, there is some focus on how your thoughts shape your feelings but it also included mindfulness skills, skills to tolerate distress and skills for how to navigate relationships. This includes how to make requests, how to say no to unwanted requests, how to maintain relationships and how to maintain your self respect.
Learn more about DBT
If anxiety is due to negative thoughts about your future, CBT can absolutely be helpful. For example, if a person often worries about getting into trouble or what others think of them, this can be resolved by using CBT methods in which we check to see how realistic those thoughts are and if they are not realistic, we replace them and thus reduce worry and anxiety.
Learn more about anxiety
If anxiety is due to negative beliefs about self, CBT can be helpful. For example, if a person often has thoughts such as feeling inadequate or a failure, this can be resolved by using CBT methods in which we check to see how realistic those thoughts are and if they are not realistic, we replace them and thus reduce negative thoughts that lead to low self-esteem.
Learn more about self-esteem and depression