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Cognitive Behavior Therapy
The cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) approach to treatment is based on the belief that how one thinks, feels and acts are interconnected. If you start to think differently about yourself, your relationships to others, and how things will be in the future, then you will also begin to act and feel differently as well. Many youth who are having trouble in their lives have significant beliefs about themselves, for example thinking they can not do things well when actually they perform at a very high level. Or a child may believe he or she will not be accepted by peers even though they have many friends.

In CBT, the youth and their parents learn new skills that will help them cope with difficult situations. The skills include calming oneself when angry or nervous, effective problem-solving, correcting mistaken beliefs, and learning to get along with peers and adults. Parents learn how to encourage healthy behavior by their children. Parents become better at providing consistent consequences for negative behavior and praising positive behavior.

After parents and children learn new, effective coping skills, the therapist helps them practice these new skills in the real world. An important part of therapy is keep practicing the new skills in increasingly challenging circumstances until the actions become automatic.