The CBT/DBT Center

Imagine the scene: it’s late at night after the most exhausting day ever. It was one of those days when you can’t even recall what happened because every event was just a blur of color. Unfortunately, upon arriving home, you’re greeted by a mess. It looks like a tornado passed through the house, and that’s not even an overstatement. Laundry is strewn all over, dishes are piling ...

Emotions are often accompanied by “action urges” that make us feel like doing something. Many of these action urges reinforce the initial emotion. For example, take a look at road rage: a person is driving really slowly (we’re talking 20 miles in a 35-mile zone), and the driver behind is getting increasingly angry, eventually finding an opportunity to pass the slow car. As the r...

Every year, come Rosh Hashanah time, when we have our simanim and dip the apple in the honey, we utter the phrase “shana tovah u’mitukah” a blessing to have a year that is good and sweet. Of course, it begs the question of why the redundancy? Aren’t we basically wishing upon ourselves the same thing twice? The common answer to this question is that, there are things in life that...

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was originally developed in the 1960s by Dr. Aaron Beck to treat depression; since its inception, it has become a first line, gold standard treatment for a variety of clinical presentations, including anxiety disorders. Accordingly, it is commonly used by therapists in their work with clients who experience social anxiety. In addition to the su...

A big part of emotional health is learning that two things can be true at the same time. We naturally like things to be clear. Was it good or bad? Am I happy or sad? Am I doing well, or am I struggling? Do I accept myself, or do I need to change? But real life usually doesn’t fit neatly into one side or the other. We can feel two emotions at the same time. You can be genuinely h...