CBT is rooted in the present and looks to the future. While past events and experiences are considered during the sessions, the focus is on current concerns. During a CBT session, your therapist will help you understand any negative thought patterns you have. You will learn how they affect you and, most importantly, what can be done to change them.  CBT usually lasts between 6 and 20 sessions, depending on your goals.  Your therapist acts as a coach, not someone who tells you what to do.

Setting Goals

With your therapist, working together, you'll set clear, specific goals (e.g., "Reduce emotional eating", "feel more in control of my habits")

Identifying Thought Patterns

You'll work on noticing:

* Negative or unhelpful automatic thoughts

* Triggers for behaviors that you want to change

* Deep-rooted beliefs (e.g., "I'm a failure" or "I'll always struggle with food")

Challenging and Reframing Thoughts

Your therapist teaches you how to:

* Examine how true or helpful those thoughts really are

* Replace them with more balanced, realistic thinking 

* Use strategies to shift behavior (e.g., delay cravings, make structured meal plans, use stress-relief tools)

Homework and Practice

CBT is very hands-on:

* You'll get tools, exercises, or journaling to try between sessions

* Practice new behaviors in real life

* Then review what worked (or didn't) next session

Building Long-Term Skills

As you go on, the focus shifts to:

* Preventing relapse or falling back into old habits

* Building your own internal "CBT toolbox"

* Feeling confident managing challenges without needing weekly sessions

What conditions can CBT help with?

This type of therapy is particularly helpful for those with specific issues. This is because it is very practical (rather than insight-based) and looks at solving the problem. Some of the concerns that may benefit from CBT include:

• depression and/or anxiety
• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• eating disorders
• addiction
• sleeping problems, such as insomnia.
• fears or phobias
• obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)