Judith Edwards

COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (LICSW), LIFE SKILLS COACHING

(BENDING MOMENTS, listed here and available through me or Amazon, is a good guide to CB for trauma.)

Surprise! I've decided to utilize my web site to talk about my Day Job - just about the best day job any artist could want. Because therapy isn't really a science, it is an intuitive art form, married to a set of skills that are learned through schooling, experience, and an empathetic nature. Of course, sometimes I use so many words and metaphors and thoughts to help people make needed changes in their lives, that I don't have many more words to use in my writing - that day or week.

I've decided to cut back a bit on my wonderful and successful practice - and split my time more equally between writing and doing therapy. I've listed, on my business card, "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Life Skills Coaching." What does that mean!

CB has as its base the premise that we hold a set of core beliefs about ourselves that come from early interactions with parents, peers and others, and events either good or traumatic. Out of these beliefs come thoughts about ourselves and our interaction with life in general and people in particular. These thoughts cause feelings, and we act on those feelings. But feelings aren't necessarily rational; they can arise from dysfunctional thoughts and cause havoc in our lives. The two statements, "Feelings aren't facts", and "Where's the evidence?" are ways to check if your feelings are causing distress.

The CB therapist helps people identify and neutralize the dysfunctional beliefs and thoughts, and change their lives for the better. We provide a toolbox. "We create our reality from our beliefs; change your beliefs and you change your reality." (If anyone recognizes that quote - well, that will be a discussion.) My favorite statment now is, "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it." Acceptance is not settling, it only helps you think more clearly.

And what about Life Skills Coaching? Basically this involves short-term problem solving, personal and professional, help with goal setting, planning, general ways to make your life work better. It doesn't go as deep as psychotherapy, but it certainly utilizes CB principles and just plain common sense!

I also do EMDR and hypnosis in my therapy practice and believe in both for different objectives.

Hours? Mostly Tuesday through Thursday, I have an office in my town. This changes as my schedule changes, and I'm flexible as to hours.

OK, that's me, outside of writing - I love to do both. My book, BENDING MOMENTS, contains my cognitive behavioral approach to post traumatic stress.