190: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Made Simple

Published: April 2, 2020, noon

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Made Simple with Seth Gillihan

Today it’s great to have Dr. Seth Gillihan on the podcast. Dr. Gillihan is a licensed psychologist who has written and lectured nationally and internationally on cognitive behavioral therapy and the role of the brain in psychiatric conditions. His books include The CBT Deck, A Mindful Year: 365 Ways to Find Connection and the Sacred in Everyday Life (co-authoredwith Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Made Simple, and Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks. Dr. Gillihan also blogs for Psychology Today and hosts the weekly Think Act Be podcast, which features a wide range of conversations about living more fully. He has a clinical practice in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, providing treatment to adults with insomnia, OCD, anxiety, depression, and related conditions. Find him on the web at sethgillihan.com. See Seth’s CBT Deck here.

In this episode we discuss:

  • How Seth got into therapy 
  • The second wave of CBT
  • The behavioral activation approach
  • Mindful CBT 
  • Seth’s “Think Act Be” approach
  • The importance of core beliefs
  • The cheap form of self-love
  • “Cycling the Puck”
  • The importance of returning to the true center of ourselves
  • The curious paradox of acceptance
  • What is our deepest self?
  • What is consciousness?
  • Why waking up isn’t a once and for all experience
  • How we can be kinder to ourselves