Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Teletherapy Cognitive Behavioral Counseling is providing Telehealth, virtual sessions, video counseling and Teletherapy Services. CBC offers HIPAA compliant telecommunications, online payments and a simple social distancing process. Mindfulness and CBT for Anxiety, Depression, and Loneliness Therapeutic interventions usually focus on past events to heal emotional pain. Processing one’s past is an essential part of the therapeutic process, but it’s just not enough in today’s isolated environment. People are secluded, fearful and depressed. In the age of social distancing, learning “in-the-moment” skills which teach how to manage worried thoughts, painful emotions and relieve anxiety/depression is critical. Social distancing is particularly dangerous for mental health since isolating… Read More
Continue ReadingManaging Coronavirus Anxiety
The Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is on the forefront of everyone’s mind. News stations are reporting it, journalists are printing it, friends and colleagues are discussing it and phones are notifying about it. In other words, the Coronavirus has gone “viral”. Just last month, COVID-19 was mainly contained to China, but it has spread fast. Europe saw breakouts in only a few weeks, and it has finally landed in the United States. We are now witnessing cases of domestic transmissions, and deaths are occuring at a faster rate. The CDC has recommended stockpiling a two week supply of food, water and supplies in case of a pandemic. What to… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Rise of Transdiagnostic Processes
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and the Third Wave Syndrome-based treatments have dominated the evidence-based landscape for almost 50 years. This syndrome approach has served well to increase diagnostic reliability and develop scientific treatment packages. However, the age of “which evidence-based package is the best?” is coming to an end. The question moving forward is “which shared mechanisms across disorders and treatments should be targeted”? This “transdiagnostic” or “third wave” approach has been welcomed by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), signaling process-based therapy (PBT) as the future of evidence based-practice. Targeting shared processes such as “psychological flexibility”, which cut across syndromes, will simplify complex interventions, better treat comorbid presentations… Read More
Continue ReadingThe EMDR and Behavior Therapy Controversy
EMDR vs Behavior Therapy Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a popular PTSD treatment for patients and clinicians alike. While it has gained in popularity over the years, it has also been mired in controversy. Proponents of EMDR maintain that the treatment more effectively reprocesses trauma than exposure therapy, and does so at a faster rate. CBT and behavioral practitioners have questioned whether the mechanisms of action underlying EMDR are simply exposure-based and if bilateral stimulation (i.e. eye movements) is a superfluous addition. State of the Evidence Previous meta-analyses and dismantling studies appear to support this analysis, indicating that eye movements and other bilateral stimulation do not add… Read More
Continue ReadingBehavioral Innovations in PTSD and Trauma Therapy
Prolonged Exposure Therapy One of the most well established and highly effective treatments for PTSD is prolonged exposure therapy. However, while this treatment has demonstrated much success over the years, focusing on habituation as the primary mechanisms of change has been called into question. The inhibitory learning model challenges outdated approaches and aligns with advances in neuroscience. Inhibitory Learning Model: Advances in CBT According to the inhibitory learning model, when exposure therapy results in extinction, information in the brain is not rewritten. Instead, new learning simply inhibits older excititory learning. The important take-home is that information is never unlearned. It just becomes inhibited. This means that depending on context and… Read More
Continue ReadingAcceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Chronic Pain
ACT and CBT are both empirically supported treatments for chronic pain management. ACT helps those with chronic pain identify what they value in life and how to move towards those meaningful experiences with self-kindness. CBT helps those with chronic pain reduce maladaptive ways of thinking about pain, while testing strongly held pain beliefs. Please click on the article below to learn more about how ACT and CBT approaches may help your physical and emotional pain. ACT, CBT and Chronic Pain Management Article
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