Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

Standard Treatment Length: Twelve 60-90 minute sessions

CPT focuses on the beliefs that arise after a trauma.  It helps people make the connection between their thoughts and the emotions/behaviors that are elicited by those thoughts.  Trauma can change beliefs in a painful way, particularly those that are related to self-blame, guilt, shame, safety, trust, power, self-esteem, and intimacy.  When these beliefs are experienced as absolute truth, they can produce painful symptoms and hinder people from engaging in their lives in a meaningful way. 

In CPT,  clients will write about their trauma, discuss maladaptive trauma-related beliefs that arise, and learn new strategies to challenge these thoughts to generate more flexible and balanced thinking which in turn allows for more positive and effective behaviors/emotions.