What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a form of therapy that helps you see how your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors influence one another. If you have ever felt stuck in a cycle of stress, overthinking, avoidance, or self-doubt, CBT gives you tools to break that cycle.

CBT focuses on what is happening in your life right now rather than only looking to the past. Decades of research show it works for a wide range of concerns.

How Does CBT Work?
CBT helps you slow down and notice what is happening beneath the surface of distress. It begins with a simple idea:

The way we think affects how we feel and what we do.

When you feel anxious or down, your brain can filter everything through a lens of fear, failure, or hopelessness. Those patterns may have helped you cope in the past, but now they may keep you stuck.

In CBT, we identify these patterns together. We notice the automatic thoughts that arise and ask: Are these helpful? Are they accurate? Are they guiding me or limiting me? Then we work to challenge the ones that do not serve you.

You will also learn practical tools to:

  • Respond to stress with more clarity

  • Take action that reflects your values

  • Reduce avoidance, rumination, and mental spirals

  • Build habits that support long-term mental health

What Are Cognitive Distortions?
A core part of CBT is recognizing cognitive distortions—patterns of thinking that seem convincing but lead you to feel worse.

Most people experience these without realizing it. They are mental shortcuts the brain takes when it feels anxious, threatened, overwhelmed, or ashamed.

Common examples include:

  • All-or-nothing thinking: “If I don’t do this perfectly, I’ve failed.”

  • Catastrophizing: Expecting the worst outcome. “If I mess this up, I’ll lose everything.”

  • Mind reading: Assuming you know what others think. “They probably think I’m incompetent.”

  • Overgeneralizing: Drawing broad conclusions from one setback. “This always happens to me.”

  • Discounting the positive: Dismissing success. “That doesn’t count. I just got lucky.”

CBT does not judge you for having these patterns. They formed for a reason. Once you see them clearly, you can shift them so they no longer control your decisions or emotions.

How Can CBT Help?
CBT is proven to help with:

  • Generalized anxiety and constant worry

  • Panic attacks and social anxiety

  • Depression, low motivation, and self-criticism

  • Stress, burnout, and overwhelm

  • Difficulty making decisions or moving forward

  • Perfectionism and fear of failure

  • Procrastination and avoidance

  • Sleep issues linked to racing thoughts

Research shows CBT often leads to a major reduction in symptoms. Many people feel more confident, resilient, and able to handle life after just a few months of treatment. The skills learned in CBT tend to last long after therapy ends.

Who Is CBT For?
CBT works across cultures, backgrounds, and identities. It has been shown to help people of color, first-generation professionals, medical professionals, and clients in high-stress roles or life transitions.

The approach is adaptable. We tailor the work to your cultural values, your lived experience, and the way you process stress.

What You Can Expect
We identify the patterns that matter and challenge them together. You will gain insight and build skills you can carry into every area of life.

Clients often report feeling:

  • Less overwhelmed and more in control

  • Clearer about how to respond to stress

  • More confident in relationships and decisions

  • Able to interrupt spirals or shutdowns

  • Equipped with strategies they can return to at any time