Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Healing begins when we stop avoiding the memory and start questioning the meaning we've attached to it.
What is CPT?
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a structured, evidence-based treatment designed to help individuals recover from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related difficulties. CPT focuses on identifying and challenging unhelpful beliefs related to trauma, allowing clients to shift from feeling stuck in the past to regaining a sense of safety and control in the present.
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Through CPT, clients learn how trauma has impacted their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours, and develop tools to reframe painful beliefs that may be keeping them in a cycle of shame, fear, or self-blame. This therapy helps reduce PTSD symptoms, improve daily functioning, and support long-term emotional resilience.
How CPT Works
CPT is a structured, time-limited approach that typically spans 12 sessions. Clients are guided through exercises to identify negative thought patterns, or "stuck points," and learn to evaluate and challenge them. By reframing these thoughts into more balanced, realistic ones, individuals often notice a significant reduction in trauma-related symptoms like anxiety, shame, guilt, and anger. Over time, CPT helps restore a sense of control, safety, and connection with others.
Who Can Benefit from CPT?
CPT is especially effective for those living with PTSD, complex trauma, childhood abuse, military trauma, or sexual assault. It’s ideal for individuals who struggle with intense emotional responses, negative self-perceptions, and relationship difficulties rooted in trauma. CPT empowers clients to rewrite harmful narratives they’ve internalized and build a more compassionate, grounded perspective of themselves and their experiences.
CPT Therapy at Harmony Healing Psychotherapy
At Harmony Healing Psychotherapy, we offer virtual CPT sessions across Ontario and Nova Scotia, providing accessible, trauma-informed care from the comfort of your own home. Our licensed therapists are trained in evidence-based trauma modalities and are passionate about helping clients move from survival mode to healing. If you’re looking for CPT therapy in Toronto, Ontario, or Nova Scotia, we invite you to book a free 15-minute consultation to see if this approach is the right fit for your recovery journey.
