Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Toronto Services

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) focuses on how you think about the things going on in your life. Thoughts, images, beliefs and perceptions impact the way you behave and deal with emotional problems. The process examines how you can change any negative patterns of thinking or behaviour that may be causing you difficulties which in turn can change the way you feel.

CBT may focus on what is going on in the present rather than the past. However, the therapy may also look at how past experiences are impacting you in the present.

CBT is a structured and shorter treatment form of psychotherapy, which can require six weeks to six months of sessions. You will usually attend a session once a week, each session lasting 50 minutes. Together, we will explore what barriers exist in your life and develop a plan for tackling them. You will learn a set of principles that you can apply whenever you need to. You may find them useful long after you have left therapy.

CBT and Treating Negative Thoughts CBT theory suggests that negative events themselves are not necessarily the reason that you’re upset, but rather the perceptions you create around those events.

Your negative thoughts can prevent you from exploring different (more positive) perspectives that don’t coincide with what you believe to be true. Continuing to think along this pattern may obstruct your ability to learn anything new.

For example, if you feel low or depressed, you may think, "I can't face going into work today. I simply can't do it. Nothing will go right." As a result of these thoughts (and of believing them), you may decide that it’s better for you to call in sick.

By doing this, it’s likely that your feelings of depression will continue. If you stay at home from work, you may create thoughts that suggest you let your colleagues down and they are angry with you and so on. You may judge yourself as being a failure and create an even longer trail of negative thoughts in your mind, which in turn will make you feel worse.

Thinking, behaving and feeling like this may start a downward spiral. It may be part of an automatic negative way of thinking. By continuing this pattern, you may soon be convinced that every negative thought that you create is in fact true.

In CBT, you will learn to recognize how you think, behave and feel. You will then be encouraged to check out other ways of thinking and behaving that may be more useful.