Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is like building a well-optimized tech stack for your mind. Imagine your brain as a powerful but sometimes buggy system, and CBT as the debugging process that helps you streamline your mental “code” for smoother operations.
- Core Framework (Core Beliefs):
At the foundation of any tech stack is the framework—this is the mental architecture you’ve built over time. In CBT, your core beliefs are like the base framework that shapes how everything else runs. Sometimes, these core beliefs—like “I’m not good enough”—are outdated or poorly coded, and they cause errors in how we function.
- Middleware (Automatic Thoughts):
Automatic thoughts are like the middleware that communicates between your core framework and how you interact with the world. These thoughts pop up constantly, just like background processes in your tech stack. CBT helps you spot the ones that are malfunctioning or misfiring, like an unnecessary alert or faulty API call, and rewrite them to be more helpful.
- Frontend (Behavioral Responses):
Your behaviors are the frontend—what others see and how you act. If the backend code is buggy, the frontend glitches—leading to things like avoidance, anger, or stress responses. CBT guides you in debugging these behaviors by going back to the source code (thoughts and beliefs) and ensuring the entire stack works harmoniously.
- Debugging & Updates (CBT Techniques):
CBT techniques are your debugging tools. Techniques like cognitive restructuring or exposure therapy work like diagnostic software—analyzing, testing, and rewriting faulty scripts that lead to anxiety, depression, or unhelpful behaviors. Over time, you implement updates, iterating on your mental code to keep everything running smoothly.
- Version Control (Journaling and Reflection):
To ensure you don’t lose progress, CBT encourages journaling and self-reflection, which act as a kind of version control system. You track your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, making it easier to pinpoint when something breaks in the system and roll back to a healthier version of yourself.
Through CBT, you’re not just fixing glitches, but continuously optimizing your mental stack—creating a more efficient, resilient, and adaptable version of yourself.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is like building a robust, balanced tech stack that can handle complex, conflicting processes smoothly, even in high-stress environments. DBT helps you integrate two seemingly opposite systems—emotional reactions and logical thinking—just like balancing flexibility with reliability in tech infrastructure.
At CriticalPath Counseling we use empirically supported manualized CBT protocols listed below:
- Problem Solving Therapy
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy
- Exposure and Response Prevention
- Inference Based CBT
- Behavioral Activation
- CBT-I for Insomnia
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Melinda Carlisle Brackett, M.A is an experienced and highly trained CBT therapist and DBT Therapist who utilizes the latest research supported protocols and methods to help you obtain relief.
Ready To Schedule?
Call Melinda at (408) 893-4032