CBT St. Louis: What CBT Should and Shouldn’t Look Like
What CBT Shouldn’t Look Like — And What to Expect With Us Instead
If you’ve ever felt skeptical about Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), you’re not alone - and honestly, we get it.
Image Credit: Unsplash, Kelly Sikkema
@kellysikkema
Too often, CBT gets used as a one-size-fits-all approach by therapists who don’t have the training, supervision, or support they need to make it effective. They might cycle through the same worksheets with every client, labeling certain thoughts as “bad,” or focusing only on symptoms without digging deeper. And when things aren’t getting better? Instead of wondering if their approach is missing the mark, they might even blame the client.
At Compassionate Counseling St. Louis, we want you to know: that’s not how we do therapy here.
We take your concerns seriously, especially if you’ve had a less-than-great experience with CBT in the past. That’s why we want to be crystal clear about what CBT with us actually looks like - and what it doesn’t.
Therapists without our level of training, education, or ongoing supervision may be using CBT ineffectively and even unintentionally causing harm.
Some therapists — especially the burned out ones — try to use it as a one-size-fits-all approach. So we know that being concerned about this specific therapy approach is valid. And we want to be upfront about what you should expect with CBT at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis.
What CBT Looks Like in Our Office
We make CBT engaging, flexible, and personalized for your child or teen. Sure, we can use a worksheet - some kids really love the structure. But we also teach CBT concepts through games, storytelling, art, and movement. We might use role play to talk about the “wizard brain” and the “lizard brain,” or play catch while flipping thoughts. We’ll explore emotions through play-doh, drawing, or real-life examples. The point is: your child doesn’t have to sit at a desk to make progress.
We Treat the Whole Picture
CBT is a tool, not a magic solution. We never start therapy by saying “You need CBT” - we start by getting to know what’s really going on. Anxiety, trauma, school stress, perfectionism, anger - whatever your child is dealing with, we’ll take time to understand the full picture before recommending a tailored mix of approaches like CBT, play therapy, ACT, or even RO-DBT for emotionally sensitive kids.
We Actually Track What’s Working
Every week, we check in with you and your child - not just casually, but with structured outcome tools that measure how therapy is going. Did your child feel heard? Did the session feel useful? We don’t wait until the end of the month to find out what’s working and what’s not - we ask every single week, so we can adjust right away.
(Read more on how we track progress through weekly outcome scores)
You’re the Expert On Your Child
We’re not here to tell you how to parent or pretend we know your child better than you do.
You bring the experience and insight; we bring the clinical tools and perspective. Together, we’ll build a plan that fits your child’s needs - and adjust it when needed, based on your feedback.
No Shame, No Blame
We don’t label thoughts or feelings as “bad,” and we definitely don’t label kids that way either. Our job is to help children and teens understand their thoughts and emotions with curiosity, compassion, and confidence - not shame. We believe in building kids up, not breaking them down.
Thoughts are just thoughts. Feelings are just feelings. There’s no such thing as a “bad” feeling or a “bad” thought - or a bad brain, or a bad child. Instead of telling kids their brains are broken, we help them explore their thoughts and emotions with curiosity and self-compassion. Therapy isn’t about judgment—it’s about giving them the tools to feel more in control, not more ashamed. Read More: Is CBT Effective for Kids?
Parents Need Support Too
When you have a child who is struggling, you can often feel at a loss. Child therapy makes a big impact on kids - and parents need support, too, which is why we offer Therapeutic Parent Coaching at Compassionate Counseling St. Louis
If you’ve been searching for CBT in St. Louis or just want counseling that truly helps—not therapy that checks boxes—we’re here for you.
At Compassionate Counseling St. Louis, we offer free 15-minute phone consults to answer your questions, understand your concerns, and help you figure out if we’re the right fit. You don’t need to make a big commitment just to get started—we’re happy to talk through what you’re looking for and how we can help.
Ready to learn more or schedule your free consult?
You can contact us here or give us a call—we’ll walk you through the next steps and make it easy to get started.
Curious to learn more about counseling for anxiety and anxiety-driven anger? Wondering if Compassionate Counseling St. Louis could be a good fit for you or your child? Reach out to us at hello@compassionatecounselingstl.com. As child anxiety experts, we love working with kids, teens, college students and parents to help manage their anxiety, stress, and anger. Compassionate Counseling St. Louis is located in Clayton, MO and works with families by offering both in-person counseling and online therapy throughout St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Ladue, University City, Town and Country, Webster Groves, Creve Couer, Kirkwood, Richmond Heights, and Brentwood. We also provide online therapy Missouri -wide to teens and college students. You can set up your first free consult on this website, on our consultation page.
