What Is CBT All About?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) highlights the important connections between an individual’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours. These personal qualities, along with a systemic focus, an assessment of the person’s bio psychosocial influences (e.g. family history, individual developmental and current environment), help counsellors assist people in their quest to gain insight into the possible factors contributing to their current concerns. Accurate assessment also fosters the discovery of solutions to problem areas, find strategies to better cope with stressors, overcome obstacles and improve relationships. 

At Jeff Packer & Associates Inc., we refrain from using a diagnostic label in reference to the individuals, couples and families we serve. These labels provide a broad classification of conditions based on a mass population. We find that understanding the person’s own characteristics (strengths, resources and areas for improvement) is most beneficial to the task of successfully meeting requests for help. CBT involves linking cognitive behaviour theory and practical solutions with information given by the person seeking counselling.

This is the assessment process, usually only a session or two. The goal of the assessment session is to:

• Develop a detailed understanding of the client’s problem areas including, but not limited to,  environmental triggers, thoughts, behaviours, emotions and physiological reactions

• Improve awareness of what factors are helping maintain the client’s problems.

• Describe the nature and strength of the therapeutic relationship

• Define the strengths of the client

• Provide a reasoned and research-based outline of how they will be able to work with the client based on the formulation emerging from assessment (adapted from Grant, Townend, Mills, & Cockx, 2008)

As the assessment process develops, individuals seeking counselling should be able to (adapted from Grant, et al., 2008):

• Recognize and understand factors that helped contribute to the emergence of their problems
• Understand and relate to the thoughts, behaviours, emotional and physiological reactions that are maintaining the specific problem
• Build awareness of the change process, the collaborative nature of therapy and co-create the mutual intervention strategy
• Effectively implement a planned approach within the therapeutic process

For further information on CBT, and other helpful approaches to resolve issues #findingsolutions, and/or to schedule your initial assessment session, call us today!