I use a collaborative approach that helps together determine the best approach to addressing clients’ problems.  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a structured and problem-oriented approach, but each intervention is based on the client’s unique needs, whether it is to address anxiety and depression or workplace challenges.

Here is a brief overview of the CBT approach:

We humans view the world through a prism that can sometimes distort how we perceive ourselves, other people and the world. That prism is created by the grinding stone of life experience, culture, and relationship successes and failures.  Making sure we view our world as it is rather than how we want it to be is a critical step in improving our mental health.

The early Stoic philosophers like Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius (Aurelian Consulting and Counseling’s namesake) recognized that our perceptions about events impacts how we feel about a situation or event.

Aaron Beck, MD, one of the fathers of CBT, theorized that individuals have automatic thoughts as they perceive various situations.  When these thoughts are distorted individuals may experience anxiety, depression or even anger.   Albert Ellis, the founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, noted that individuals are by nature irrational. We tend to view events and make irrational assumptions that direct people to act and react in inappropriate or self-defeating ways.

The goal of CBT is to help you identify these automatic thoughts and assumptions and to view them in more helpful and rational ways.

While this CBT’s approach may seem intuitive, noticing one’s distorted patterns of thinking takes hard work.  These patterns have developed over a lifetime and can be resistant to change. 

CBT is one of the most studied and validated therapeutic techniques. It has been found to be effective in treating a wide range of mental health problems. Numerous research studies suggest that CBT leads to significant improvement in functioning and quality of life. The same model can be used to treat both mental health and work-related issues and problems.