Interventions geared toward improving your health and overall mental well-being through modifying your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The application of behavioral, cognitive, and other evidence-based practices to the assessment, prevention, treatment of human problems, and the enhancement of health and well-being. Cognitive Behavior Therapy has been found to have a significant impact on improving outcomes with a range of different disorders and problem behaviors. These techniques are also the basic tenet of general life enhancement.
- Mood Disorders- The aim is to help individuals realize that they can influence their mood by identifying and changing their thoughts and beliefs, and to identify and change aspects of behavior that may perpetuate or worsen depression. A cognitive behavioral approach to addressing mood disorders involves a number of techniques- behavioral analysis, activity scheduling, identifying unhelpful thinking styles and core beliefs, cognitive restructuring of automatic negative thoughts, enhancing social support, and problem solving. Patients will be asked to keep a thought record, activity diary, and to test their thoughts with behavioral experiments.
- Anxiety- Individualized, research-supported therapeutic interventions for anxiety include education for the anxiety sufferer and family, skillful coping techniques and helping individuals gradually face feared situations. Helping the anxious person learn to manage distressing feelings in the body and family support and coaching on how to respond to the anxious member are also taught. Coordination with physicians and/or schools round out treatment.
- Addictive Behavior Disorders- Cognitive behavioral methods are used to improve motivation for change, identify and moderate use-related beliefs, manage cravings more effectively, improve mood states, and utilize a range of adaptive skills. Underlying co-morbid problems are also a focus of treatment.
- Eating Disorders- At their core, most eating disorders are based on the over-evaluation of shape and weight. Since these are inherently cognitive in nature, it is no wonder that cognitive and behavioral interventions have been found to be most effective. Goals include changing how you think and feel about food, eating, and body image. Patients will keep a food diary and identify triggers and antecedents to their food related problems. Poor eating habits, and relapse prevention are also a focus of treatment.
- Borderline Personality and other Personality Disorders- Symptoms of personality disorders may seem to differ widely, but all personality disorders are characterized by entrenched patterns of thinking and behavior. Empirically supported treatments, such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (a form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (a mindfulness based behavioral therapy) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy are applied to reduce symptoms and enhance functional outcomes among patients with personality disorders.