Cognitive Supportive Therapy Specialist

Steven R. Kafrissen M.D. DLFAPA

Psychiatrist located in Kingston, PA

Steven R. Kafrissen, MD, offers Cognitive Supportive Therapies to his patients from in and around Kingston, Pennsylvania. Supportive therapies are an important part of the clinical care of mental health issues like depression, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. It can help you to recognize, process, and respond to your thoughts and feelings more healthily and constructively. If you are looking for expert therapeutic care, call Dr. Kafrissen or book an appointment online today.

570-608-8025

Cognitive Supportive Therapy Q & A

What is cognitive supportive therapy?

Cognitive supportive therapy is a clinical therapeutic approach to help you learn to recognize your thoughts and feelings and adjust the way you respond to those feelings. For example, people who have panic disorder often end up experiencing anxiety about the potential for having a panic attack.

An example of an unhealthy response to this fear is to avoid leaving your home - this would get in the way of your life. Cognitive therapy teaches you to recognize your fear of the panic attack and that this fear is just a feeling. Treatment then trains you to recognize the fear for what it is and then choose to leave your home for work, social activity, or even a trip to the grocery store.

What happens during a cognitive supportive therapy session?

Cognitive supportive sessions are talk therapy sessions, so you sit in an office with Dr. Kafrissen and talk about what you’ve been thinking, feeling, and doing since your last appointment. Dr. Kafrissen asks questions to learn more about your feelings and behaviors and to help you reflect on this as well.

In some cases, he offers advice on a more productive or healthier way to respond in a certain situation, but mostly he encourages you to step back from your feelings and to think about them before making a conscious decision about how to respond.

Dr. Kafrissen also assigns homework. He’ll ask you to practice certain techniques that you learn during your session in your real life. Then, at your next appointment, you can talk about what worked, what didn’t work, and discuss modifications to make the therapy more effective for your needs.

How does cognitive supportive therapy help me?

Ultimately, cognitive supportive therapies teach you to use your rational thinking (cognitive) skills to recognize destructive feelings and behaviors. This is the first step in changing the way you think about certain feelings and respond to them.

If you’re concerned that a mental health issue like anxiety, depression, OCD, or PTSD is getting in the way of a healthy and productive life, call or book an appointment online to talk to Dr. Kafrissen about your needs.