What CBT Really Looks Like: Examples Therapists Use Daily

As in the 7 Types of Boundaries diagram above, it is perfectly OK to state your limitations to people who make demands of your emotional resources. If they push back against your boundaries or continue to violate them, then this shows your relationship may be off balance, problematic, or even toxic. When we maintain healthy boundaries in all seven domains we will thrive, but when others cross or violate our boundaries, there will be a personal cost if we do not address it. The third step is common for people with poor boundaries, codependency issues, or are people pleasers.

Example 2: Ongoing Session Progress Notes

Despite its many advantages, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques are not for everyone. Using affirmation, the client is encouraged to give themselves daily messages that serve to motivate them and boost their self-esteem (e.g., “ I can do it”) The key is to keep the affirmations realistic. Successive approximation is a fancy way of describing a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy technique where you break up a task into more manageable parts. This makes it seem less overwhelming to the client and more likely they will take it on and complete it. The key is to find a skilled therapist who can match the kind of therapy with your needs. Because we’re constantly encountering so much information, we can only pay attention to a small percentage of our thoughts at any given time.

With some forms of CBT, such as exposure therapy, you may need to face situations you’d rather avoid, such as airplanes if you have a fear of flying.
Structured CBT journaling, on the other hand, guides you through specific questions and formats designed to challenge distorted thinking and develop new perspectives.
In my practice, I’ve observed something consistent about clients who read detailed examples before starting therapy.
Intrusive thoughts, which can hinder daily functioning, are common, as evidenced by their mention by therapists.

Helpful Resources From PositivePsychology.com

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has become one of the leading approaches to psychotherapy due to its strong research support and quick treatment timeline. Once clients learn how CBT works, they typically find that it can easily be applied to their own lives. Our Socratic Questioning worksheet guides clients toward more accurate and balanced thinking. After identifying a thought that’s negatively impacting them, clients answer a series of questions that help uncover important errors, blindsides, and omissions. Clients then revise their original thought to make it reflect what they’ve learned. The tips for keeping healthy boundaries in friendships include some points mentioned above, especially understanding your personal limits in terms of time and emotional investment.

Cognitive restructuring – unravelling cognitive distortions

This is where cognitive restructuring techniques, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which make up the rest of this guide, will come in handy. Remember, cognitive restructuring refers to the process of challenging thoughts—it isn’t a single technique. There are many techniques that fall under the umbrella of cognitive restructuring, which we will describe (alongside several therapy tools) throughout this guide. Thoughts play a powerful role in determining how people feel and how they act. If someone thinks positively about something, they’ll probably feel positively about it.

cbt examples

What Are Boundaries?

Prognosis is guardedly optimistic if family will engage in therapy with DBT elements for at least six sessions (with refresher sessions as needed).
Role-playing scripts are one of many ways to learn to manage emotions.
When we don’t maintain healthy emotional boundaries with others, we may feel resentful, guilty, and drained, which are all common emotional signs of codependency or enmeshment.
Setting healthy boundaries requires good communication skills that convey assertiveness and clarity.
Reframing usually begins in a therapist’s office, but it can be implemented anywhere the client has the energy and the will to apply it.
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Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our five positive psychology tools for free. These practical, science-based exercises equip you with tools to help yourself or your clients establish and maintain healthy boundaries. Examples of role-play in therapy include practicing difficult conversations, expressing emotions toward a family member, or simulating high-stress situations like public speaking. Through these exercises, clients can explore different ways of responding and find approaches that feel authentic and constructive. Consider factors such as your therapeutic approach, setting, and personal preferences when choosing a therapy note template.

DBT addresses emotional dysregulation – when feelings arrive suddenly, intensely, and last for hours.
Someone with moderate depression and strong social support frequently progresses faster than someone with mild anxiety but significant avoidance patterns affecting multiple life areas.
The client is asked to imagine a place where they feel safe and happy.
Once you identify the distortions you hold, you can explore how they took root and why you came to believe them.
In the diagram above, personal boundaries refer to all seven types of boundaries that affect our personal wellbeing.

How Are Cognitive Distortions Treated?

For clients in therapy, role-playing scripts offer a replacement for some aspects of more typical talk therapies (Hackett, 2011). “Role-playing has emotive, cognitive, and behavioral components” that can create disturbances that help clients change “unhealthy feelings to healthy ones” (Corey, 2013, p. 300). In cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), there are few tools as simple but powerful as a thought record.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques such as feelings charts are especially helpful with children and populations that have a limited vocabulary or difficulty identifying and expressing feelings. Relaxation techniques are primarily used to reduce anxiety symptoms but they are a generally good stress buster. The easiest and most commonly used is deep abdominal breathing, such as those done in yoga. Another commonly used CBT technique is progressive muscle relaxation. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques involving relaxation can be used as a preventative exercise to keep baseline anxiety down or in the moment to reduce anxiety in stress-provoking situations.

It appears that all family members in this case would benefit from engaging in the above DBT skills, to support and communicate with one another. The mother states he has had difficulty adjusting socially in the United States, especially with peers. He has become increasingly self-isolating, appears sad and irritable, and has started to refuse to go to school. Prognosis is a forecast about whether the client’s condition can be expected to improve, worsen, or remain stable. Prognosis can be difficult, as it often depends on unforeseeable factors.