Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Understanding the patterns between your thoughts, emotions and actions, and learning how to respond differently.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, often called CBT, is a practical and evidence-based approach to therapy that explores how our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours influence one another.
Sometimes we get caught in patterns that make sense in the moment but keep us feeling anxious, overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected over time. CBT helps you slow those patterns down, understand what is happening, and develop different ways of responding.
It isn't about forcing yourself to “think positively” or convincing yourself that everything is fine. It's about learning to notice the patterns your mind has developed, question the ones that may no longer be serving you, and build skills that help you navigate difficult emotions and situations differently.
How does CBT work?
Imagine you're waiting for someone to respond to a text message.
Your mind might immediately think: “They're upset with me.”
That thought might lead to anxiety. The anxiety might lead you to reread your messages, check your phone repeatedly, send another text, or replay the conversation in your head.
Someone else could experience the exact same situation and think: “They're probably busy.”
Same situation. Very different emotional response. CBT helps us become curious about what happens between an event and our reaction to it.
Together, we might explore:
Situation → Thoughts → Emotions → Behaviours → Consequences
Over time, these patterns can become so automatic that we don't even realize they're happening. Therapy creates space to notice them.
What can CBT help with?
CBT can be adapted to many different concerns and life experiences. At Internal Nesting Wellness, we may incorporate CBT when supporting people experiencing:
Anxiety and excessive worry
Panic and fear
Depression and low mood
Stress and overwhelm
Low self-esteem
Perfectionism
People pleasing
Difficulties with boundaries
Major life transitions
Relationship or interpersonal patterns
Difficulties with emotion regulation
CBT is not necessarily used on its own. Depending on what brings you to therapy, we may integrate it with approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), DBT-informed skills, motivational approaches, or other forms of therapy.
What can I expect in a CBT session?
CBT is collaborative. Your therapist isn't there to tell you what to think or hand you a list of things you're doing “wrong.” Instead, you'll work together to understand what is happening and why.
Sessions may involve talking about a recent situation that was difficult, identifying the thoughts and emotions that came up, and noticing what you did next. You might explore questions like:
What went through my mind in that moment?
What was I afraid might happen?
What did I do to cope with that feeling?
Did that response help in the short term? What happened in the long term?
Is there another way I could understand or respond to this situation?
Some sessions may be more reflective, while others may involve practicing specific strategies or planning something to try between appointments.
CBT isn't just about changing your thoughts
One common misconception about CBT is that therapy involves replacing “negative thoughts” with “positive thoughts.” That's not really the goal.
Sometimes our thoughts are uncomfortable and accurate. Sometimes life genuinely is difficult, uncertain, unfair or painful. CBT isn't about talking yourself out of those realities.
Instead, we may explore whether the way you're interpreting or responding to a situation is helping you move through it or keeping you caught in the same cycle.
Sometimes the work involves changing how we think. Other times, the most meaningful change happens through what we do differently.
Understanding the patterns underneath
CBT can also help us explore some of the deeper beliefs we develop about ourselves, other people. and the world. These beliefs are sometimes called core beliefs.
They may sound like:
I'm not good enough.
I'm responsible for keeping everyone happy.
If I make a mistake, I've failed.
I can't handle uncertainty.
I have to be in control.
My needs aren't as important as everyone else's.
These beliefs often develop for understandable reasons. Experiences with family, relationships, school, work, trauma, loss, or other significant events can shape the way we learn to see ourselves and the world around us.
Therapy gives us an opportunity to notice these beliefs, understand where they may have come from, and decide whether they still fit the life you want to live today.
Is CBT right for me?
You don't need to know which type of therapy you need before reaching out.
That's part of our job.
Some people benefit from a structured CBT approach, while others benefit from CBT concepts being integrated into a broader therapy process. We tailor therapy to the person sitting in front of us rather than expecting every person to fit neatly into one therapeutic model.
If you're curious about CBT or wondering what approach might fit what you're experiencing, we can talk about that together.