Cognitive Processing Therapy
in New York, NY
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) — Helping Survivors Of Trauma Reclaim And Revitalize Their Lives
Sometimes, when you endure or witness something deeply painful and shocking, it can fundamentally alter how you think and feel about yourself, other people, and the world we live in. Maybe you were the victim of abuse or the target of an attack that’s left you on high alert, unable to trust other people or even feel safe in ordinary situations.
Perhaps you suddenly lost a loved one, and now that they’re gone, you’re filled with guilt and shame for not spending more time with them while they were here. Or it could be you grew up in a toxic environment where you were criticized so much that, now as an adult, you struggle to recognize your own worth.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a structured, evidence-based approach to healing specifically designed to target these painful thoughts, emotions, and beliefs that often develop after trauma.
Rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Theory, CPT seeks to understand how negative internal experiences—like self-blame or guilt—actually perpetuate suffering. At the same time, CPT equips trauma survivors with the skills, self-awareness, and support needed to reframe those once unhelpful perspectives into a healthier mindset, enabling clients to heal and thrive in the long term.
Understanding How Cognitive Processing Therapy Works
Many people struggling in the aftermath of trauma turn their pain inward and become stuck in endless cycles of shame, guilt, and self-blame. CPT is designed to directly address inaccurate beliefs, negative feelings, and distorted thought patterns generated by severe trauma and PTSD—an area in which traditional talk therapy methods continue to fall short.
In certain cases, CPT can be used to treat similar overlapping cognitive distortions related to co-morbid conditions, like anxiety and depression. However, it’s primarily and most effectively used to support individuals with a PTSD diagnosis or an established history of trauma, especially survivors of combat, physical assault, and sexual violence.
During treatment, we use assessments, like the PCL-5 self-report questionnaire and the PHQ-9, to ensure diagnoses are correct, to guide treatment, and to monitor clients’ progress and symptom severity. Although CPT Therapy focuses deeply on healing, our ultimate goal is to provide clients with the support, insight, and tools needed to take gainful steps toward enriching and changing their lives.
How Does Cognitive Processing Therapy Promote Healing?
All too often, people who experience trauma will come to believe that they are somehow at fault or that the world is always dangerous—or a combination of the two. These kinds of deep beliefs and thought patterns can actually feed PTSD symptoms, which impair executive functioning and oftentimes lead to avoidant behaviors—a common coping skill for trauma survivors.
Our job at Live Well Practice is to help you challenge those negative perspectives and discover a new way of looking at yourself and the world in general. Cognitive Processing Therapy accomplishes this through a very structured, step-by-step approach to trauma and PTSD treatment.
You and your therapist will start cognitive processing sessions by reviewing any negative thoughts or ideas that you may have assimilated into your personal narrative. That could involve identifying patterns of guilt and self-blame, inaccurate generalizations (like we live in a cold, cruel world), or over-rationalizations, such as all men are bad.
Next, you’ll work on breaking down those thoughts—exploring their origins, their accuracy, and how they may be contributing to anxiety, depression, or other challenges in your life. Then, using evidence-based techniques specific to Cognitive Processing Therapy, your therapist will help you disrupt those beliefs and replace them with healthier, more accurate perspectives.
Learning how to break down and reframe your thoughts, beliefs, and the stories you tell yourself is a skill like any other, and the more you practice, the better you get at it. Cognitive Processing Therapy gives you the space and support for practicing that skill while fostering logical, grounded thinking that reduces anxiety, prevents overwhelm, and improves your overall mindset.
How Effective Is Cognitive Processing Therapy?
Because CPT is a trauma-informed version of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, there is a ton of empirical research out there supporting its efficacy. Similar to Trauma-Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), which supports children and teens, CPT is designed specifically for adult populations struggling with trauma on any level.
CPT—in addition to Prolonged Exposure and EMDR (interventions we also specialize in)—has even been endorsed by the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs as the first line of treatment for successfully addressing PTSD in veterans.
Like EMDR, CPT became popular, in part, because it typically only requires 12 to 16 weekly sessions to complete. It involves assessments to help measure progress in real-time while giving direction to therapy. Plus, it doesn’t require survivors to retell their stories in painstaking detail because we’re focusing more on the cognitive impact of trauma rather than the wound itself.
How Does CPT Support People In The Long Term?
Cognitive Processing Therapy helps you change your relationship with trauma so that painful thoughts and memories are finally relegated to the past where they no longer threaten you. At the same time, we’ll help you restructure thoughts and beliefs that are maintaining PTSD symptoms so you can finally stop avoiding people, places, things, and thoughts as a way to cope.
Over time, you’ll begin to feel lighter, more hopeful, and generally more at ease. With less reason to avoid situations, you can enjoy stronger relationships, improve your work performance, and rebuild your social life. Ultimately, you’ll be learning how to re-engage with life while developing valuable skills to carry and use in other areas in the future as you pursue your dreams and goals.
Our History And Background With CPT Therapy
Many of our clinicians at Live Well Practice NY are trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy, including founder Joseph LaBadia who is a certified CPT therapist. We also have clinicians with decades of combined experience treating PTSD and helping clients both heal and enrich their lives.
In order to successfully support veterans, sexual assault survivors, and those struggling with the deepest of traumatic wounds, it was imperative that we find a tool that really worked. When we discovered this research-based, scientifically proven approach to therapy backed by the US government and the APA, we knew it was a game-changer.
Along with Prolonged Exposure and EMDR, CPT forms a core part of our approach to treating PTSD and helping people live their best lives. If you’re ready for a change and want to try a unique, hands-on approach to healing, we invite you to call our virtual assistant at (201) 855-9402 to set up your free, 20-minute consultation.
Live Well Practice offers virtual Cognitive Processing Therapy for adults in NYC and throughout the state of New York.
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