ONLINE THERAPY based in SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy online across California.

Are you looking for effective strategies that are rooted in research?

CBT may be a good fit for you if:

  • You have found yourself sitting in therapy sessions in the past, grasping for something more concrete and tangible to help with worry, sleep, or depression

  • You want to walk away from therapy with knowledge and skills to feel confident in your ability to manage future challenges

  • You are wanting to focus more on the present than the past

  • You like the idea of therapy being an active process, with collaborative goal-setting, practicing skills in-session and out-of-session, and plenty of learning along the way

  • You are ready and willing to make change

What is cbt?

CBT, or cognitive-behavioral therapy, is an evidence-based psychological treatment approach that focuses on the interplay between our thoughts, emotions, and behavior. 

According to CBT theory, unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior are at the root of conditions, such as anxiety disorders, depression, insomnia, and more.

You may be wondering: what does that really look like?

Imagine someone with a fear of flying. They may find the thought, “we are going to crash and die,” on repeat while they sit, buckled in, waiting for take-off. They may find themselves imagining in vivid detail the sudden onset of turbulence, the captain announcing over the loudspeaker, passengers screaming and trying to make calls… I don’t know about you, but thinking all of that is pretty scary, even without a specific fear of flying. But for someone with this type of fear (aka a phobia), thoughts like this can act like fuel to an already roaring fire. They may also do everything in their power to avoid flying, opting for the 12-hr road trip or skipping out on family vacations. While it is incredibly understandable to want to avoid that level of discomfort, we know that avoidance also adds to fear. Without having the experiences that disprove the fear (that if you fly, there will be a plane crash and you will die), the fear does not have the opportunity to go away.

While you may think that this example seems quite different from worrying about the future of a relationship or not feeling good enough, our thoughts usually play a big role in how we experience things. More often than not, thinking happens so quickly and naturally that we rarely pay a whole lot of attention to it. As grateful as we may be for our brain’s ability to think through complex problems, plan for the future, and remember the past…sometimes our thoughts can also get in the way.

This is where CBT comes in.

CBT helps us identify thinking patterns that arise in situations where we feel so anxious we struggle to concentrate at work, feel so much like a failure that we have a hard time trying that new hobby, or feel so insecure that we avoid building relationships. Getting familiar with these common patterns of thinking gives us power to understand when they are influencing us, be intentional about how we respond, and learn tools to make meaningful change.

Awareness and understanding of patterns of thinking and behavior allows us to effectively learn strategies to manage difficult experiences.

What to expect

  • Monitor and keep track of data

  • Learn about common types of thinking patterns you use most often

  • Explore underlying beliefs you have about yourself and the world

  • Identify patterns of behavior that may not be in line with your goals

  • Practice using strategies to respond to unhelpful thoughts

What is CBT-I?

CBT-I, or Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, is a structured application of CBT designed specifically for Insomnia. There is impressive evidence supporting it’s effectiveness, not only during treatment but also afterwards. CBT-I includes components of CBT with other components that are known to be effective for insomnia, such as stimulus control therapy, sleep hygiene education, and sleep restriction therapy.

CBT therapy can help you…

  • Understand the thinking patterns that have been getting you stuck

  • Recognize behaviors that have been keeping you stuck

  • Learn effective strategies to respond to unrelenting worry, rumination, or harsh self-criticism

  • Feel confident in your ability to handle difficult thoughts and emotions

  • Make changes that are in line with your goals

Discover effective tools that work for you.

Frequently asked questions about CBT therapy

FAQs

  • Yes, CBT has been found to be effective in the treatment of various anxiety disorders.

  • Good question, CBT-I is a specific protocol that utilizes the principles of CBT to treat Insomnia. The behavioral changes that are recommended as part of CBT for Insomnia are sleep-related, such as avoiding naps, being mindful of caffeine use, and employing other sleep hygiene principles. Another difference is that CBT for insomnia includes two main components, stimulus control and sleep restriction. Sleep logs are used as an essential part of treatment to calculate important sleep metrics, such as sleep efficiency, time in bed, and total sleep time.

  • Yes, CBT generally does involve some work in-between sessions in order to gather relevant information to tailor treatment and to practice skills. This allows us to make progress more quickly and to test out whether skills we talk about in session work realistically in your life. We would always agree upon these things together, so it would not be something you are not on board with. If doing work outside session does not sound good to you, we can talk about it together and can still use parts of CBT to inform our treatment.

  • No, but it is probably the method most people ask me about. I also frequently utilize other evidence-based approaches, such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness-based approaches, and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT).