Cognitive & Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
CBT & DBT Therapy In Long Island
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
What is CBT?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps you change how your thinking, behavior, and emotions negatively impact your life. Cognitive strategies focus on identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and teaching you how to change them. Behavioral strategies focus on facing fears and getting out of unhelpful behavior “loops” that everyone falls into. Emotion regulation strategies focus on identifying emotions before they get too big and teaching you how to manage them before they lead to problems. Learn more about our CBT in Long Island.
Our areas of expertise for adults
Common Psychological Issues
- OCD
- depression
- mood disorders
- anxiety disorders
- phobias
- panic disorders
- habit disorders
- stress management
- anger management
- relationship problems
- adjusting to college
- executive coaching
Behaviorally-based strategies
Acceptance & mindfulness-based strategies reduce suffering & facilitate making meaning & working toward valued goals. Our behavior therapy strategies are based on learning theory and include:
- problem solving
- behavioral activation
- communication & assertiveness skills
- relaxation & mindfulness training
- systematically & collaboratively approaching avoided emotions & situations (exposure)
Collaborative sessions
Our collaborative sessions are focused & include developing goals & tracking progress. Clients actively participate in treatment, working in & out of sessions with strategies to practice at home.
Our approach to treatment
Success with CBT & DBT
CBT & DBT now has overwhelming research support demonstrating its success with clients struggling with multiple problems.
schedule a phone consultationDialectical Behavioral Therapy in Long Island, NY
What is DBT?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a specialized, comprehensive form of cognitive-behavioral therapy designed to help adults, adolescents & their families better manage their emotions, behaviors & relationships. If you’re looking in Long Island for DBT, our team offers structured skills training and individual support to help you manage emotions and improve daily life.
What Problems Does DBT Solve?
DBT includes both individual therapy & weekly skills training sessions. DBT balances a validating & change-oriented approach & through ongoing assessment, problem solving & skills training, helps clients improve the following problems:
- impulsivity
- emotional dysregulation
- Anxiety, depression & anger
- struggles with identity & sense of self
- interpersonal conflict
- suicidal thoughts
- intentional self-injury
DBT Skills Taught in Group
In DBT groups, clients learn skills to help with intense emotions that are overwhelming or last too long, strategies for increasing positive feelings and decreasing vulnerability to emotional ups and downs, how to communicate more effectively, decrease family conflict, decrease impulsivity, and improve focus and awareness to enhance coping, make better decisions and enjoy things more.
Mindfulness
Become more centered, focused, and aware in the here and now so that you can be more attentive and more thoughtful and deliberate in your actions.
Distress Tolerance
Develop skills to help you ride out emotional stressors and painful situations without worsening your problems or emotional state.
Interpersonal Effectiveness
Enhance your interpersonal skills and become better equipped to maintain relationships, assert yourself, and build self-respect.
Emotional Regulation
Work to understand your emotions better, develop strategies for reducing your vulnerabilities to negative or all-consuming emotions, increase positive emotions, and learn how to change painful emotions that you want to change.
Walking the Middle Path
Learn how to walk the middle path between extremes in your thinking or behavior, break free of black & white thinking, increase your ability to validate others and yourself, reduce family conflict, and learn more effective ways to change behaviors.
Individual Sessions for DBT in Long Island
In individual DBT sessions we work together to increase effective strategies for managing emotions, behaviors and relationships, enhancing your quality of life, and decreasing stress and self-destructive or impulsive behaviors. We provide between session phone coaching to help you apply the skills you are learning without having to wait until the next session.
FAQ About CBT & DBT
What is the difference between CBT and DBT?
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that keep problems like anxiety, OCD, and depression going. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a specialized form of CBT that adds mindfulness and acceptance skills to help people manage intense emotions, impulsive behaviors, and relationship conflict.
How do I know whether CBT or DBT is right for me?
CBT is often the first choice for anxiety, panic, phobias, OCD, and depression. DBT is usually recommended when emotions feel overwhelming or hard to control, or when impulsivity, self-harm, or frequent conflict are part of the picture. Your first sessions include an evaluation so your clinician can recommend the best fit.
Can CBT and DBT be used together?
Yes. Because DBT grew out of CBT, the two fit together naturally, and many treatment plans draw on skills from both.
What happens in a CBT or DBT session?
Sessions are collaborative and focused. You and your therapist set goals, track progress, and practice specific strategies, with skills to work on at home between sessions.
Is exposure therapy a type of CBT?
Yes. Exposure therapy is a core CBT technique that involves gradually and collaboratively approaching feared or avoided situations and emotions. Exposure and response prevention (ERP), the leading treatment for OCD, is one form of it.
Do you offer CBT and DBT therapy on Long Island?
Yes. Cognitive Behavioral Associates offers CBT and DBT for adults, adolescents, and families from our office in Great Neck, serving clients throughout Long Island, NY.