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Find Relief from Fear and Anxiety Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

In-person in Evanston, IL, and online across Illinois

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CBT Can Help Change the Negative Thought Patterns Controlling Your Life

At Evanston Counseling, we’re committed to identifying and addressing the root causes of your fear and anxiety. Since Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) aligns naturally with our holistic approach to healing, we often incorporate CBT into our treatment plans.

The underlying concept in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is that your fear and anxiety arise more from how you perceive situations than the situations themselves. In other words, it’s not always the situation that causes anxiety but how we interpret it.

Let’s take social anxiety as an example.

Perhaps you’ve become excessively nervous about social interactions. You constantly worry that you might say something inappropriate or embarrassing and believe that would result in others judging or disliking you (thoughts/fears/beliefs). These thoughts and fears lead you to avoid social situations like engaging with friends and co-workers. And ultimately, this leads to anxiety and loneliness.

CBT helps you recognize and reframe those negative and catastrophic thoughts, fears, and beliefs. You can regain control over that constant mind-chatter and tame your fears and anxiety through CBT.

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CBT: A Proven Effective Therapeutic Approach

Directional road sign indicating mental, physical, emotional well-being. The photo represents aspects that therapists focus on to relieve anxiety and pain. Find relief with cognitive behavioral therapy in Evanston IL | 60201

CBT is one of the most substantially researched forms of psychotherapy and is considered “an evidence-based intervention for anxiety disorders.” CBT is also well-studied for chronic pain conditions and has many benefits, including improved daily functioning and quality of life.

At Evanston Counseling, we regularly incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help resolve and cope with a range of issues, including:

You’ll Find That CBT is More Structured Than Other Forms of Therapy at Evanston Counseling

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a problem-focused, goal-oriented, and structured course of therapy. While everyone’s situation is unique, your CBT experience might look like this:

  • Your Initial Session:

    During your first session, we review your current situation and the symptoms and stressors causing discomfort. Together, we decide which issues/problems to focus on and then create strategies to reach specific goals.

  • Identifying Problematic Thoughts and Behaviors:

    Once we pinpoint the problems/issues, we work toward identifying the underlying negative thought patterns that bring about your fear and anxiety. You’ll keep a journal of your thoughts and feelings in the situations that cause anxiety.

  • Challenging and Changing Unhelpful Thoughts and Behaviors:

    After identifying negative or catastrophic thought patterns, we begin reframing them. This might be challenging, as it can involve confronting deeply ingrained ways of perceiving yourself and others. But it’s important to understand whether your perceptions are rooted in fact or influenced by hidden fears and beliefs. Your therapist will always guide you through this with empathy and at your own pace.

  • Practicing New Skills:

    You’ll be encouraged to draw upon new ways of thinking in situations that cause you anxiety, often through “homework” assignments. This practice helps you apply what you’ve learned in therapy to your daily life and works to reinforce more positive thought patterns.

  • Review and Ongoing Strategies:

    During therapy, your therapist will ask you to rate the intensity and frequency of your negative thoughts. Once you’ve reached your goals or have made significant progress, you’ll review the changes with your therapist. Together, you discuss strategies for maintaining progress, dealing with potential future setbacks, and, if appropriate, planning for the end of therapy.

The success of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy rests on the therapeutic alliance between you and your therapist, as well as your motivation and dedication to the process. But CBT can be an effective therapy if you are committed to bringing about meaningful change.

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Popular With Therapists (and Clients) in Evanston Illinois

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the most commonly recommended (and requested) counseling methods. Both therapists and their clients appreciate its structured approach, practical techniques, and evidence-based results.

  • CBT is shown to be effective by research studies
  • CBT produces meaningful results in a relatively short time frame
  • CBT focuses on present problems and provides techniques that can be used immediately.
  • CBT is structured, so each session has specific goals
  • CBT is goal-oriented, so it has concrete results.
  • CBT techniques are life-long coping tools. Once learned, they can be applied to future problems.
  • CBT is empowering and promotes personal control over mental health.
Happy couple traveling as tourists. The photo represents freedom from anxiety and chronic pain through cognitive behavioral therapy in Evanston IL | 60201

Are You Ready to Live Free
From Your Fear and Anxiety?

Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to learn more about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and whether CBT is right for you.

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Evanston Counseling, PLLC

636 Church St, Ste. 603 | Evanston, IL 60201

(773) 983-8444

info@evanstoncounseling.com

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