Therapy approaches · The Holistic Counselor Podcast learning guide
From the Mic to the Community
What is CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)?
Explore the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Diana S. Rice · Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional (CIMHP), Qualified Supervisor (QS)
4 pages · No email required · Education, not individual care
Have you noticed how one quick thought can change the way you respond to a whole situation? This approach helps people slow down and examine those patterns.
A practical approach
Cognitive behavioral therapy explores links between thoughts, feelings, and actions. Work may include checking an interpretation, changing an unhelpful pattern, or practicing a skill between sessions.
Use an ordinary example
You send a message and get no reply. “They must be upset with me” is one explanation, but not the only one. You might explore what you know, what you are guessing, and what response would be helpful. Real harm and unfair conditions should not be dismissed as faulty thinking.
Choose goals together
Sessions are usually collaborative and structured. Ask how the work would fit your culture, health, daily demands, and reasons for seeking care.
Research & perspective
What to keep in mind
Research supports this approach for several conditions, including anxiety and depression. Different concerns need different methods. It is more than positive thinking, and it is not the best fit for every person.
Explore the sources ↓A moment for you
Let’s pause and reflect.
Choose one question, or take your time with all three. Your answers can stay private. Skip anything that feels like too much; you do not need to revisit painful details to use this guide.
- In a small recent situation, what did I notice and what did I assume?
- How did my response affect what happened next?
- What question would help me consider another explanation?
Use your own notebook or the writing space in the PDF. This page does not ask you to submit reflections.
Continue the conversation
Listen with curiosity.
Selected conversations to begin with. Guests share their own perspectives; a linked episode is not a treatment recommendation or a complete review of the evidence.
- Episode 91
- Episode 69
- Episode 125
Make room for support
Questions to bring to a professional
- What form of cognitive behavioral therapy would you use for my concern?
- How do you adapt practice tasks to a client’s life?
- How will we tell whether it is helping?
One next step
Bring one everyday example to a clinician. You do not have to challenge a traumatic memory or talk yourself out of valid feelings.
Keep learning
Sources & useful resources
These links support the teaching and help you explore further. Professional organizations describe their own approaches; faith organizations describe their perspectives. Directories are starting points, not endorsements.
Services, fees, rules, and links may change. Confirm current details directly.
When a guide is not enough
Need support right now?
In the U.S. and its territories, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers support for emotional distress or a suicidal crisis.
If there is immediate danger or a medical emergency in the U.S., call 911. Outside the U.S., use your local emergency or crisis service.
This website and its contact form do not provide crisis care.