CBT Westport

10/14/2024

Have you every thought that accepting reality (when it feels difficult) is giving up? It’s actually quite the opposite. Accepting reality helps you problem solve better. When you truly know and accept the reality of a situation, you can identify the options you have and more readily choose a good plan of action moving forward. So don’t avoid reality. Lean into it and be truly present. Your future will thank you.

10/10/2024

October 10th is World Mental Health Day! Together let us support one another in seeking the help we may need, break down barriers and reduce stigma.

05/25/2024

Here’s the rub: maintaining relationships help you fight depression, yet depression makes you want to pull-back or withdraw from your relationships.

But…. There can be a way out! Opposite Action — a tool that comes from Dialectical Behavior Therapy or DBT — can help get you onto solid ground.

The idea here is simple: Do the opposite of what your depression is telling you to do. Not easy to enact, but when people do this consistently over time, they often see their mood improve and energy return.

A good CBT or DBT therapist can help you learn this (and many other skills) to help you re-engage with your life and feel less depressed.

05/22/2024

Anxiety can make us think that we need to be certain of how things will go before we do them. You know – be sure you can make the sports team before trying out, or be sure that you will get the job before applying. The need for certainty or wish to control the outcome of things can make us hesitant to do things that we aren’t 100% sure of.

And when perfectionism is involved, it’s even worse – making us think that we need do the thing perfectly before we try. This can be really limiting and make us feel stuck and even more afraid.

As. strange as it may seem, tolerating uncertainty is the path to feeling less anxious. Not the other way around. And,
perfectionism lies to us – since we can’t grow without making mistakes.

So, if you think that you’re putting too much pressure on yourself to be perfect — at work, at school, as a parent, or partner… ask yourself a few questions:

🎯 Am I being kind to myself or self-critical?

🎯 What would I tell a friend in the same situation?

🎯 What is a more reasonable expectation for myself, or anyone facing this situation?

🎯 Will this matter in 2 days, 2 weeks or 2 months from now?

See if thinking those questions through can help shift your perspective and drop some pressure.

Next, check in on what you’re doing:

🎯 Are you over working, or not asking for help because you
think you should be able to do it on your own?

🎯 Are you feeling so much pressure that you’re afraid to try
or are you procrastinating and avoiding the things you need to do?

If so, encourage yourself to take a step, and act opposite to the wish to avoid it. You may just find that you are more able than you think, and if you make a mistake (we all do), you may just learn from it and be more equipped to face the challenge next time.

You’ve got this, one (uncertain) step at a time. 👍🏽

05/07/2024

Worry is the unhelpful combination of overestimating danger and underestimating your ability to cope.

‘Overestimating danger’ is all of those pesky “WHAT IF” questions. “What if something bad happens? “What if I fail?” “What if this panic never goes away?” “What if I get fired?” “What if my teen doesn’t get into college?

“Underestimating your ability to cope” refers to the “I CAN’T” responses to those questions. This sounds like: “I can’t handle that.” “I can’t do this. “I just know I’ll fail.” “This panic will never end and I can’t deal.”

But here’s the thing... Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help! You can learn how to move from the “what if” questions and “I can’t” responses to “It may happen and I can handle it.”

And when you do that, you can gain freedom from worry.

05/02/2024

Did you know that Michael Jordan didn’t make his high school basketball team, or that Oprah was fired from her first newscaster job — before creating the most successful talk show in history? Lots of very accomplished people fail before they succeed. But the pressure on teens and young adults to succeed is so great today, that they are working themselves into the ground trying to achieve perfection. The problem is — perfection is impossible, and having such high unattainable expectations so young is leading many to have high levels of anxiety and depression.

Anxiety makes things even worse, since anxiety often sends teens (and adults) the message that they need to be in control of what happens and be “certain things will work out & work out well” before we try. This limiting message makes many individuals with anxiety feel stuck and afraid.

The simple truth is that tolerating uncertainty is the path to feeling less anxious, more confident and more in control. We can’t make progress without making mistakes sometimes. It’s all a part of learning, growth, and development.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help teens and adults with perfectionistic standards to adjust their perspective and behavioral approach (e.g., overworking, increasing anxiety, procrastination, etc.). And when they learn to drop some of their perfectionism, they tend to become less anxious, less depressed, and more effective in taking steps towards their goals.

04/30/2024

Perinatal OCD can be experienced by parents, whether or not they are a childbearing parent. It can affect parents of any gender and can occur during the pregnancy period and/or after the baby’s birth. There is no need to struggle in silence or alone, as there are treatments that work.

The gold standard treatment is Exposure and Response Prevention (E/RP), which is a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy for OCD. This treatment can stand alone and/or be combined with medication.

Be sure to work with a licensed mental health provider that has specific training in E/RP and not just CBT for Anxiety. All of the psychologists at CBT Westport are well trained in E/RP, and two psychologists are currently accepting new adult clients.

/RP

04/24/2024

Dr. Caron will be facilitating a book discussion about Michelle ICard’s new book on 5/15 at the Fairfield Public Library, before Ms. Icard comes to Fairfield on 5/20 to offer Fairfield CARES Community Coalition’s keynote address at their Annual Community event! Read the book and come with thoughts and questions for CBT Westport’s director, Dr. Annalise Caron.

On May 15, Fairfield CARES will host a community book discussion with local child and adolescent psychologist Dr. Annalise Caron. Caron will talk about the new book, 8 Setbacks That Can Make a Child a Success: What to Do and What to Say to Turn Failures into Character Building Moments by Michelle Icard. To learn more about this free event visit https://fplct.librarymarket.com/event/fairfield-cares-community-book-discussion-102110 Fairfield CARES Community Coalition

02/21/2024

Insomnia is disabling not only because of feeling sleep deprived, but because of the many ways it affects our thinking, performance, and overall mental and physical health. Treating insomnia has been shown to have positive impacts not only on sleep quality and efficiency, but in terms of many other mental and physical health indicators, as described in this post.

All of our psychologists at CBT Westport have been fully trained in and practice Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). Typically, we offer this personalized treatment in individual therapy, but Dr. Margarita Cossuto is also offering a CBT-I virtual group, starting February 26th. This group has 7 total meetings (an initial consult meeting, and 6 group sessions). The total cost for all 7 sessions is $360, which comes out to about $51 per meeting. We price at this lower rate, as we recognize that many people seek targeted treatment for Insomnia — while also already seeing another therapist — which we understand can be cost prohibitive.

For more information about the CBT-I group, see our website:
https://cbtwestport.com/services/sleep-solutions-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-for-insomnia/

Or call:
(203) 220-6486

Sources for the content in this post:
Cunningham, J. E. A., & Shapiro, C. M. (2018). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) to treat depression: A systematic review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 106, 1–12.

Lau, P., Carney, A. E., Marway, O. S., Carmona, N. E., Amestoy, M. E., & Carney, C. E. (2022). Investigating the antidepressant effects of CBT-I in those with major depressive and insomnia disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 9, 100366.

Lee, S., Oh, J., Park, K., Lee, S., & Lee, E. (2023). Digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia on depression and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Npj Digital Medicine, 6(1).

Matteson-Rusby, S., Pigeon, W. R., Gehrman, P., & Perlis, M. L. (2010). Why treat insomnia? Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

02/17/2024

The birth of a new baby can bring a full range of emotions, from extreme happiness to feelings of overwhelm and significant sadness. 70% — 80% of new mothers experience “baby blues” in the first couple of weeks after delivering, while 10% - 20% of new mothers experience Postpartum Depression which is more severe than “baby blues” and lasts longer.

Let’s support new mothers who have emotional changes after delivering their baby.

If you are the new mom, let us assure you that feeling this way is very common. And your sad/overwhelmed/anxious feelings will either naturally fade, or there are helpful interventions like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and/or medication that can help! If you are the partner, family member or friend of a new mother experiencing such feelings — start by normalizing their feelings, validating their perspective, and supporting them by helping them get breaks from unending childcare and/or help them get more time to sleep. Sometimes these changes alone can be enough to really help. If your (or your partner’s/friend’s) symptoms do not go away after a couple of weeks, seek

Know that Postpartum Depression is not limited to mothers. New fathers can feel overwhelmed, sad, anxious, and irritable — just more emotionally vulnerable after having a baby. The good news is that CBT is also helpful for new fathers whose symptoms don’t remit after a week or two.

We all need to support each other and remember that asking for help — when we are feeling overwhelmed, sad, or may have Postpartum Depression is not a sign of weakness — it’s a sign of health!

02/17/2024

The birth of a new baby can bring a full range of emotions, from extreme happiness to feelings of overwhelm and significant sadness. 70% — 80% of new mothers experience “baby blues” in the first couple of weeks after delivering, while 10% - 20% of new mothers experience Postpartum Depression which is more severe than “baby blues” and lasts longer.

Let’s support new mothers who have emotional changes after delivering their baby.

If you are the new mom, let us assure you that feeling this way is very common. And your sad/overwhelmed/anxious feelings will either naturally fade, or there are helpful interventions like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and/or medication that can help! If you are the partner, family member or friend of a new mother experiencing such feelings — start by normalizing their feelings, validating their perspective, and supporting them by helping them get breaks from unending childcare and/or help them get more time to sleep. Sometimes these changes alone can be enough to really help. If your (or your partner’s/friend’s) symptoms do not go away after a couple of weeks, seek

Know that Postpartum Depression is not limited to mothers. New fathers can feel overwhelmed, sad, anxious, and irritable — just more emotionally vulnerable after having a baby. The good news is that CBT is also helpful for new fathers whose symptoms don’t remit after a week or two.

We all need to support each other and remember that asking for help — when we are feeling overwhelmed, sad, or may have Postpartum Depression is not a sign of weakness — it’s a sign of health!

💙

02/05/2024

It’s not always easy to ask for help. And it’s also not easy to call a therapist’s office! Many people feel uncertain or confused...what should I ask for, how much will I have to reveal on the phone, or what if I don’t know what’s wrong or what I need? This can feel overwhelming and may even cause you to hesitate, delay or not call until it feels urgent.

Here are a few tips if you are considering reaching out to a therapist:

A great first sentence may sound something like this, “I think that I’m struggling with xyz and I would like to make an appointment with someone for an assessment/consultation.”
It helps to share some details over the phone in order to make sure that you are calling for the right type of therapy. But it’s well within your rights to offer less information while speaking with the receptionist/scheduler and wait to meet in person before deciding to disclose more specific and intimate details.
You are allowed to ask questions too- this is your health and well-being! Asking if a therapist has experience in this area or questions about background and training are a good place to start.

It is the job of a mental health professional to conduct a sound assessment and work with you collaboratively to create a plan for treatment. You don’t have to identify your own diagnosis or know the path forward to get started. Sometimes you just have to take that first step and call.