WORKING THROUGH DISTRESSING THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS: A Place for Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Winters are a hard time for so many of us – we can get stuck in routines, retreat more within the comfort of our homes, and perhaps most challenging, we find ourselves reflecting on ourselves and our relative contexts. In fact, this particular time of year is synonymous with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), an experience that is so common it has become a (uninvited) household name and guest. 

Mental health challenges tend to be more acutely challenging this time of year, as it becomes more difficult for us to maintain self-care routines, try to get adequate sleep, and feel well balanced – we tend to slip back into old habits, enter into more relational struggles with our loved ones, and generally feel less satisfied and resilient. Small stresses can take us down, and we find ourselves stuck with distressing thoughts, and uncomfortable emotions. What if it didn’t have to be that way?

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based and often gold-standard approach anchored to client needs to address the unhelpful thinking and behavioural patterns that underly the challenging emotions that hold us back. 

How does it work? 

Work with a cognitive-behavioural therapist involves developing a treatment plan that is tailored to address a number of client goals. It is a short-term treatment that generally lasts between 8-24 sessions. CBT focuses on finding solutions, providing strategies and techniques to improve coping and reduce distress, designed to help clients challenge difficult thoughts and beliefs, and change problematic behaviours. A number of specific interventions have been developed stemming from a cognitive-behavioural perspective: Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). 

The CBT Clinic

On January 16th, 2023, the Centre for Interpersonal Relationships (CFIR) opened its doors to The CBT Clinic. CFIR is poised to provide cognitive-behavioural therapy in a client-centered fashion, tailored to your specific needs. The CBT Clinic includes a large number of empathic and caring mental health professionals that can see clients virtually, and in-person at our sites in Ottawa and Toronto. 

Dr. Marc Bedard, C.Psych. is a psychologist and neuropsychologist at the Centre for Interpersonal Relationships (CFIR). Dr. Bedard provides psychological services to individual adults experiencing a wide range of psychological and relationship difficulties related to mood and anxiety disorders, trauma, eating disorders, sleep disruptions, and interpersonal betrayal. He works from a client-centered approach and integrates therapeutic techniques from object relations, ego, and self-psychology psychotherapies, emotion-focused therapy (EFT), and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). He also provides neuropsychological assessment services to individuals with acquired brain injury, post-concussive difficulties, and to diagnose issues related to neurodivergence (e.g., Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder). Dr. Bedard is the Director of the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Clinic (CBT-C) at CFIR. 

How We Approach Treatment Options at CFIR

At Centre for Interpersonal Relationships (CFIR), we believe it is important for your clinician to be flexible in offering a variety of scientific, evidence-based treatments to address the cognitive, emotional, behavioural and relational aspects of your concerns. Providing you with different possibilities for change is fundamental to us because we know that no one treatment fits all!

Different treatments focus on various aspects of your concerns, including behaviours, cognitions, emotions, perceptions, and relationships. We’ve compiled a list of a few scientific, evidence-based psychological treatments available at CFIR along with the focus of the treatment approach:

Acceptance and Commitment, Compassion & Mindfulness-based therapies (ACT, MBSR)

Acceptance and Commitment, Compassion & Mindfulness-based therapies (ACT, MBSR) are forms of psychotherapy that support an individual to learn how to observe, be less reactive, accept and be non-judgmental of internal thoughts or emotional reactions. ACT helps you to act from core values as opposed to being entangled in the thoughts and emotional responses that are at the root of your concerns. Developing a more compassionate outlook towards your self is also essential for remediation of various mental health concerns. Treatment focuses on developing the capacity to observe, adopt a non-judgmental stance toward thoughts and feelings, and diminish reactivity while anchoring the self in core values to promote clarity in thinking and action.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that addresses psychological issues by focusing primarily on the cognitive and behavioural dimensions of your emotional and behavioural concerns (i.e., the way that your thoughts, beliefs or thinking influences your emotional and behavioural responses). CBT also focuses on problem-solving, finding solutions, improving coping, helping you to challenge distorted cognitions (e.g., thoughts, beliefs) and change problematic behaviours. Your emotional or behavioural responses transform through exposure to specific situations, cues, narratives or places that trigger distress and maladaptive responses. Homework is often assigned.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a form of treatment that came to be from a context of treating patients to deal with and process distressing memories of past traumatic experiences. It’s currently used to treat a broader range of psychological issues. Treatment involves visual or auditory bilateral stimulation with a primary focus on the integration of distressing aspects of past, and present experiences and increasing adaptation and resilience by building inner resources to address these experiences.

Motivational Interviewing 

Motivational interviewing is a form of counseling that helps individuals achieve changes by increasing their motivation to change difficult behaviours. Treatment targets ambivalences about changing, and becoming increasingly aware of the problems, consequences, and risks of these behaviours. Motivation is increased to create a better future consistent with an individual’s values and principles.

Psychodynamic, Attachment-based, Mentalization therapies 

Psychodynamic, attachment-based, mentalization therapies focus on how past and current relationship experiences have influenced a person’s present patterns (i.e., thoughts, thinking about self and other, emotional reactions toward self and others, and behaviours) and relationships. Psychoanalytic-oriented approaches have a rich, historical tradition beginning with Freud and Jung to present-day scientifically validated psychodynamic approaches. The goals of psychodynamic-mentalization and attachment-based therapies are to increase an individual’s self-awareness about these patterns to promote change in the present-day. 

Concerns flow from internal conflicts, dynamics, and patterns that create difficulties for our self and block us from building meaningful lives and relationships. Defenses and self-protective strategies that prevent access to earlier emotionally overwhelming experiences are diminished over time to promote more adaptive functioning, self-growth, and change. Treatment focuses on cognition, emotion, and interpersonal dimensions of your difficulties. Your interpersonal relationships, both with your therapist and others, are explored to understand and change how one experiences oneself and relates to others in interpersonal relationships. These approaches tend to focus on the self and relational issues underlying your symptoms and distress, as opposed to targeting symptoms directly.

Systemic therapy 

Systemic therapy is a form of psychotherapy that understands problems evolving in interactions and interaction patterns with other individuals and systems. Treatment focuses on the impact of your couple partner, children, family, work and socio-cultural system on your self and your relationship with others.

Clinicians at CFIR can help you or someone you care about address the concerns, issues or struggles that life may occasionally present. 

Most private extended insurance plans, as well as Medavie/BlueCross (RCMP, Veterans Affairs, Canadian Armed Forces) and CUPE, cover CFIR services. 

Contact us today. Help is available right now for you and your loved ones! We also offer video-based appointments.

What is CBT and How Can It Help You?

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that addresses psychological issues by focusing primarily on the cognitive and behavioural dimensions of your emotional and behavioural concerns (i.e., the way that your thoughts, beliefs or thinking influences your emotional and behavioural responses). CBT also focuses on problem solving, finding solutions, improving coping, helping clients to challenge distorted cognitions (e.g., thoughts, beliefs) and change problematic behaviours. Your emotional or behavioural responses are also changed through exposure to specific situations, cues, narratives or places that trigger distress and maladaptive responses. Homework is often assigned.

Different treatments focus on different aspects of your concerns, including behaviours, cognitions, emotions, perceptions, and relationships. The psychologists, psychotherapists and counsellors working through CFIR are trained and skilled in providing various types of psychological treatments. They are also dedicated to discovering what will work best for you. Contact us today to book your initial appointment or to arrange a free 30-minute consultation.