How We Treat

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

At The Counseling Center Group, our purpose is to help people live a life they love and we believe change happens fastest when someone has concrete tools, not just understanding. Insight can tell you why a pattern exists. Skills are what let you interrupt it the next time it shows up. That belief is why Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the modalities we invest in most heavily, and why our CBT therapists are trained to pair every session with something you can practice before the next one.

Clinically reviewed by Daniel McNulty, LCSWC/LMSW, 2026. Daniel has completed training in Trauma-Focused CBT with The Medical University of South Carolina.

CBT focuses on how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors influence one another.

This form of therapy deals is present-focused rather than delving into past history or childhood experiences. It is a structured approach that identifies specific goals and proposes techniques to help clients meet those goals in a short time frame. Take-home assignments are a key feature of CBT and give clients an opportunity to apply the skills they learn in a therapist’s office to real-life, everyday situations. There are many forms of CBT, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

CBT can be highly effective in addressing a range of mental conditions (such as CBT for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, OCD, panic disorder, PTSD, and substance use) as well as more general struggles (such as divorce, grief, relationship troubles, stress).

What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a structured, short-term, evidence-based treatment that targets the connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, and related conditions. Grounded in the work of Dr. Aaron Beck and Dr. Albert Ellis, CBT is one of the most extensively researched forms of psychotherapy, with 50+ years of clinical evidence and well over 2,000 published trials behind it (American Psychological Association).

CBT works by identifying unhelpful or inaccurate thinking patterns and testing them against real evidence, then building new behaviors that reinforce the shift. CBT is present-focused, which is part of why it is designed to produce measurable change within a defined timeframe. There are several branches of CBT, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which adapts the same core model for people who need additional skills in emotion regulation.

Why Counseling Center Group Uses CBT

Counseling Center Group built its therapist training and client-matching process around modalities like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy because we believe therapy should give people something to do with what they learn, not just something to understand. A client who leaves session one with a concrete technique to test before session two is already further along than a client who only leaves with a new insight. Every CBT therapist at Counseling Center Group is trained to translate a session’s clinical work into a specific, real-world assignment, so progress compounds between appointments instead of resetting each week.

What Does a CBT Session at Counseling Center Group Look Like?

Therapists at Counseling Center Group learn CBT during graduate school and continue learning through additional training, workshops, and supervision. Some also choose to earn advanced CBT certifications, but these aren’t required to practice CBT.

Session length for Cognitive Behavioral Treatment at Counseling Center Group is unique to your personal needs, and is typically discussed with your therapist. You and your therapist will break a problem into smaller, specific parts, test whether your thoughts about it are accurate, and build a plan to respond differently. Each session ends with a take-home assignment that puts the skill into practice in real life.

In session, identify the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors contributing to your distress and, together, you work through core beliefs and automatic negative thoughts that keep a problem in place. Between sessions, take-home assignments (things like tracking a thought pattern, practicing a new behavior, or testing a feared situation in a controlled way) turn what you covered in the room into a skill you actually own. You report back on how the assignment went, and the next session builds on what you learned. The goal is for you to leave treatment with the ability to apply CBT skills on your own, without needing a therapist in the room to do it.

What Conditions Does CBT Treat?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a first-line, evidence-based treatment for anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, eating disorders, and substance use disorders, and it is frequently used as part of a broader treatment plan for bipolar disorder, personality disorders, and chronic pain.

Condition	How CBT Helps
Depression	Breaks the cycle of negative automatic thoughts that keep you feeling stuck, allowing you to gradually rebuild energy and motivation.
Anxiety disorders	Gives you practical tools to test whether your anxious worries are actually true, helping you feel safer and more in control of your daily life.
Eating disorders	Replaces harmful rules and distorted beliefs about food and body image with healthier, more balanced perspectives. Note: CBT-E's evidence is strongest for bulimia and binge eating disorder, and is more mixed for anorexia.
OCD	Provides a safe, structured way to face obsessive fears without relying on compulsive behaviors, slowly shrinking their power over you.
Substance use disorders	Equips you with real-time coping strategies to manage intense cravings and emotional triggers without turning to substances.
Sleep disorders	Calms the racing thoughts and bedtime anxieties that keep you awake, helping you build routines that invite natural, restful sleep.
Anger management	Teaches you how to spot your unique triggers and hit the "pause" button, giving you the space to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting out of frustration.
Relationship issues	Uncovers the hidden assumptions and thought patterns that drive arguments, helping you communicate more clearly and connect more deeply.
Bipolar disorder	Used alongside medication management to stabilize routines and catch early mood-shift warning signs.
Personality disorders	Offers structured, step-by-step support (often alongside approaches like DBT) to help you navigate intense emotions and improve how you relate to others.
Chronic pain	Lowers the stress and emotional weight of living with pain, teaching you how to pace your activities so you can get back to doing the things you love.

What CBT Techniques Does Counseling Center Group Use?

Our Counseling Center Group therapists draw from a core set of CBT techniques, chosen based on which one best fits your specific goals, to help you understand the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and build skills for long-term change.

Cognitive Restructuring

Cognitive restructuring identifies negative or inaccurate thoughts and replaces them with more accurate, balanced ones. Many CCG therapists ask clients to track thoughts in a journal or log, which builds awareness of automatic patterns and makes them easier to interrupt in the moment.

Behavioral Activation

Behavioral activation increases engagement in activities that anxiety or depression has led someone to avoid. Therapists work with clients on goal setting and activity scheduling so re-engagement feels achievable rather than overwhelming, which tends to improve mood and motivation over time.

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving skills help clients spot obstacles before they escalate and build a plan to address them proactively rather than reactively, which increases a sense of control and reduces the emotional toll of unresolved problems.

Exposure Therapy (ERP)

Exposure therapy gradually and systematically introduces a feared object, thought, or situation in a controlled setting so the anxiety response decreases with repeated practice, and it is the core active ingredient in treating OCD, phobias, and panic disorder. For OCD, CCG therapists use Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which pairs exposure with blocking the compulsion that would normally follow, often alongside behavioral experiments that test a feared prediction against what actually happens.

How Do I Find a CBT Therapist Near Me?

Counseling Center Group offers in-person CBT at offices across New York City, Maryland, New Jersey, Florida, Virginia, and Washington D.C., plus remote CBT sessions everywhere we’re licensed to practice. During intake, our team matches you with a therapist trained in the specific CBT approach, whether that’s traditional CBT, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, to best fit your goals.

Frequently Asked Questions about CBT

What is the difference between CBT and DBT?

CBT targets the connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors broadly, while DBT adds specific skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation for people who experience very intense emotions. Read our full DBT vs. CBT comparison for a deeper look.

Is CBT an effective treatment for all types of anxiety?

CBT is well-supported by clinical research for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias. It works by helping you identify and challenge irrational or maladaptive thoughts and gradually change avoidant behaviors, which reduces anxiety symptoms and builds coping skills.

Do I have to do homework in CBT?

Yes, and it’s one of the reasons CBT works as quickly as it does. Take-home assignments, like journaling, practicing a relaxation technique, or consciously challenging a negative thought, reinforce what you cover in session and give you real-world practice applying new skills.

Is CBT a short-term or long-term therapy?

CBT is generally short-term, though the exact length depends on the issue being addressed and your progress. Counseling Center Group therapists reassess goals regularly rather than committing to an open-ended timeline.

Is CBT the same as psychotherapy?

No. CBT is one specific, structured form of psychotherapy focused on present-day thoughts and behaviors, while “psychotherapy” is a broad umbrella term that includes many approaches, some of which explore past history in more depth. See our CBT vs. psychotherapy comparison for more detail.

How is CBT different from ACT?

CBT focuses on identifying and changing inaccurate thoughts directly, while Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on accepting difficult thoughts and feelings without trying to change them, then committing to action aligned with your values. Counseling Center Group therapists trained in both can help you determine which approach fits your goals.

Is CBT covered by insurance?

Coverage varies by plan. Counseling Center Group is an out-of-network provider, so we recommend contacting your insurance company to understand your out-of-network benefits. Please reach out to us directly to learn more about therapist rates and financial options.

Take the Next Step With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT will not erase every hard thing in your life, but it will give you a way to respond to it that does not leave you feeling stuck. If a specific thought pattern or habit has been running the show for too long, structured, skills-based therapy can hand control back to you, often faster than you’d expect.

CBT Resources

Books on CBT

We Can Help.

If you or a loved one can benefit from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), we are here to help.