What does a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Counselor do?
When looking for a therapist in St. Louis, you might often find “CBT” in their bio or on their website. CBT is commonly used by therapists in their practice and in the mental health profession.
So what does it mean for a therapist to have CBT listed in their about me? What does a CBT therapist do?
First things first…
CBT helps us become aware of unhelpful thinking patterns, so that we can be reframe those thoughts.
We learn to view situations more clearly and to help respond in a more helpful, effective way. CBT is an effective tool to help manage stress, anxiety, anger, or perfectionism.
Because of how helpful and effective CBT is, it is commonly used in talk therapy (psychotherapy).
CBT therapists in St. Louis often learn about CBT and CBT tools and methods during their graduate degree, some even become a certified CBT therapist or take additional educational courses on CBT as a licensed therapist.
Therapists that use CBT in their practice have knowledge on using CBT and incorporating into their professional practice. As a CBT therapist, during structured therapy sessions feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and experiences are explored, often in relation to the cognitive triangle.
In our approach as CBT therapists at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis, we want to take a step back and figure out:
What’s going on in your child’s brain
How what’s going on impacts their emotions, and
What reactions it’s leading to
Image Credit: Ana Tavares @ana_tavares on Unsplash
This way, we can walk through and figure out, what's something more helpful your child can tell themselves? What's a way to make sure your child can keep their emotions calm and in check? What are better reactions your child can choose, or some relaxation skills that they can incorporate that will feel more helpful?
All of our therapists are CBT trained, and we also have an art therapist and two certified TF-CBT therapists on staff, so we can really bring in specialized intervention as needed.
CBT in St. Louis: Building Awareness, Skills and Turning the Page
In addition to exploring feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and experiences, CBT therapists educate and teach relaxation, coping, resilience, stress management, and assertiveness techniques. A CBT therapist helps you gain confidence and comfort.
Therapists that use CBT typically focus on specific problems, using a goal-oriented approach. Your CBT therapist may have you do homework, such as activities, readings, or practices that build on what you learn during your regular therapy sessions. Your therapist will also encourage and help you to apply what you're learning in your daily life.
We’ve broken up what a CBT therapist does in steps:
Explores and identifies troubling situations in your life
Helps you to become aware of your feelings, thoughts, and beliefs about these situations
Assists in identifying and recognizing inaccurate or negative thinking
Reshape negative or inaccurate thinking to thinking that is more helpful
In therapy with a CBT therapist, their goal is to help you take back power and control to cope with stressful situations in a healthy way so that you feel better about yourself and your life.
Do you feel like your child would benefit from CBT? We’d love to chat with you discuss details and figure out if we’d be the best fit. Even if we aren’t, we have a robust referral network of other therapists that we can connect you with.
If you want some guidance on how to change your thoughts, feelings, or reactions - you’re totally not alone.
We’re here and we’re ready to help!
Curious to hear more about CBT therapy in St. Louis, or wondering if you need anxiety therapy for your kid or teen?
Compassionate Counseling St. Louis provides specialized anxiety and anger management therapy for kids, teens, and college students. We work in Clayton, MO and serve kids, teens, and college students throughout St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Ladue, University City, Town and Country, Webster Groves, Creve Coeur, Kirkwood, Richmond Heights, and Brentwood. You can set up your free phone screening to see if we’re a good fit for your needs right on our website.
