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Portland Relationship Center
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503.234.4440
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4511 SE 39th Ave
Portland, Oregon 97202
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At Portland Relationship Center ,we employee the techniques of
Cognitive Therapy, in much of our practice. This modality of treatment has been
widely researched and successfully utilized for over 40 years. There are
numerous styles of cognitive therapy and many theorists have contributed ideas
to the field. Norene Gonsiewski, MSW, LCSW, has studied the
work of David Burns, MD, author of Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy,
as well as many others. She has spent many years adapting CT tools in her
unique work with couples, adolescents, victims of childhood trauma, and issues
of depression and anxiety.
The premise of cognitive therapy is that our feelings are created by thoughts.
Yes, all of our feelings (happy, safe, angry,
self-hating, prejudice, self-conscious, proud, depressed, suicidal, homicidal,
revengeful, compassionate, loving) are created by the thoughts that precede
them. The styles and habits of thinking negatively have been given many names
including “thinking errors”, “cognitive distortions” and “automatic negative
thoughts”, or “ANTs”. An event takes place and our thoughts
about the event
lead to our feelings. We are held hostage by our brain chemistry when we do not
understand it and enlist the tools that offer freedom from painful moods.
At Portland Relationship Center we challenge our clients to recognize (as hard as
it sometimes is) that events are neutral, and how we see the events in our
lives, past and present, determines how we feel about those events. We never
attempt to minimize the pain our clients carry about life’s traumas and losses;
rather we support you to feel your pain while “enlarging the story” you hold.
There are very real and compelling reasons to hurt, to distrust and to grieve,
and yet a healthy outlook contains room for hope, compassion, learning and
possibility.
 All of us have automatic negative thoughts, or ANTs, the problem thoughts that
bring about the unpleasant feelings. ANTs originate from the beliefs that we
carry from our families, our cultures, our peers, the media and our previous
experiences. ANTs are automatic, which means they occur without any time to
respond with logic to a given situation, and they usually go untested. They are
called “negative” because they lead to unpleasant moods or feelings. In fact
these ANTs are the cause of ALL of our unpleasant feelings including anxiety
and depression.
ANTs are incorrect thoughts. They are imbalanced, limited or
distorted ways of viewing life’s highs and lows. When you challenge an ANT and
replace the thought with a more balanced or realistic thought, you change
your mind, and then your mood. This is very important information.
Because we cannot change or control events outside of us, the only control we
have is in how we see the event. Challenging and replacing
ANTs with realistic thoughts can reduce stress, brighten your mood, increase
your self-confidence and give you the motivation that is required to reach your
goals.
Using Cognitive therapy we will teach you to examine not only the thoughts that
cause your suffering, but also the core beliefs that you carry from childhood
and the outlook that you hold regarding your future, your potential and your
purpose.
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