An Introduction to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

By Yochanan Berkowitz

Introduction

As a privately practicing therapist and life coach, Zev Yochanan Berkowitz treats children, adolescents, adults, and families. Yochanan Berkowitz draws on training in cognitive behavioral therapy to develop client treatment plans.

Developed around the idea that thought patterns direct behaviors, cognitive behavioral therapy allows clients to explore the beliefs that create these patterns. It stands out as an action-oriented and goal-driven form of therapy and, as such, requires the active participation of the client as well as the therapist.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Clients undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy work to identify the unhealthy beliefs that they have developed about themselves and their abilities. They then learn to challenge these beliefs by gathering facts and exploring options, which in turn gives them power over their thought processes.

Conclusion

Studies show that this stoic exploration and analysis of thought patterns can effect a measurable change in a client's brain activity. To achieve success, however, a client does need to commit to practicing his or her new thought patterns, a process that occurs in the context of CBT homework assignments. This learning-based methodology drives all CBT-based therapy models, including Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.