CBT

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Being also trained in Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT), I integrate this expertise in my practice.

It allows me to help the patients that suffer from :

• ✓ Depression
• ✓ Difficulty with stress management
• ✓ Agoraphobia and panic attack
• ✓ Social phobia
• ✓ Others phobias
• ✓ Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• ✓ Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• ✓ Generalized anxiety disorder

The techniques used in this therapy are utilized at three levels : behavioral, cognitive (relating to mental processes) and emotional.

These techniques are used to modify mental processes and automatic negative thoughts (e.g. “I can’t have confidence in myself», «I can’t face up to things”, “I am worthless”,…) which cause patients suffering.

Here are few examples of the CBT techniques which I use :

• – Methods of exposure to anxiety-causing situations : patients are going to face anxiety-causing situations in a gradual and prolonged manner with my help, according to task defined together ;

• – Relaxation and mindfulness in order to reduce anxiety ;

• – Self assertion in order to allow patients to develop assertive responses (learn to ask, to say no or negotiate, know how to respond to criticism, manage anger, resolve conflicts,…) but also social relations skills ;

• – Stress management :

  • = Patients are going to learn to use breath control and relaxation.

    = They are also going to have at their disposal better management of emotions by learning to lessen their intensity (by identifying them, accepting them and regulating their excesses).

    = They are going to recognize and change the automatic thoughts which keep them in a vicious circle.

    = Patients are also going to develop the capacity to know how to adopt a positive attitude or at least to relativise the consequences of a situation realistically.

    = They are going to learn better time management.

    = They are going to face up to difficulties better by pinpointing problems clearly so as to be less submerged by the emotions.

    They are going to acquire a healthy lifestyle which helps regulate stress.

• – The use of cognitive and behavioral techniques will allow patients to learn to differentiate facts from their subjective appreciation so as to modify depressive or anxious patients’ systems of belief and establish a programme of activities intended to increase the number of situations in which patients can find pleasure or demonstrate their efficiency.