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I hope you enjoyed this newsletter and found at least one idea that will help you make some positive changes in your life. Feel free to forward this newsletter to others who may benefit.
Warm regards,
Laura L.C. Johnson, MBA, MA, LMFT, LPCC
Director, Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center of Silicon Valley
Diplomate, Academy of Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center of Silicon Valley provides evidence-based therapy for adults, children and teenagers with anxiety, OCD and eating disorders. |
In this newsletter, you will learn about the benefits of "Getting Better" by focusing on learning and growth compared to "Being Good" by trying to prove your self-worth and competency. We also highlight a recent New York Times article that explores the problem of finding therapists who actually practice evidence-based CBT.
"Be Good" goals are about proving yourself. When you are striving to "be good," you are focused on showing yourself and others that you are already completely competent. Mistakes are awful because they contradict the image of yourself as perfect. In contrast, "Get Better" goals are about improving yourself. When you are focused on getting better, you are interested in learning and growth. You are okay with making mistakes because you know that you don't know everything. Mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn.
In a recent New York Times article, the author points out that "many patients are subjected to a kind of dim-sum approach - a little of this, a little of that, much of it derived more from the therapist's biases and training than from the latest research findings." This article brings to light the importance of being sure you are really receiving CBT when a therapist claims to be practicing it.
The Mindful Eating Group program is going strong. New group members can join at the start of every 6-week module. The first group delved into mindfulness skills like being aware of hunger and fullness and practicing radical acceptance. The second group just started and we are learning to identify and label emotions and deal with emotions more productively. In mid-May, the Mindful Thinking module will help you learn to cope with thinking traps like all-or-nothing thinking, personalization and catastrophic thinking.