CBT Westport

08/09/2026

Worth the listen for parents and teens... especially those heading off to college in the coming weeks. Dr. Suzanne Allen and Dr. Annalise Caron of our practice speak about sexual assault prevention on The Parenting Pair podcast -- empowering parents to support their teenagers, and supporting teens and young adults of any gender. Listen or watch wherever you get your podcasts.

It's move-in week — and this episode is a timely one for parents of...

01/13/2026

We did it! Podcasts listeners in all 50 states! ❤️💙 Thaks to all of you who shared episodes with friends, family and other parents out there. Tell us below what our next goal/challenge should be?! Every country? Seems like a tough bar, but you can’t reach goals if you don’t set them? 🤔

10/14/2024

Have you every thought that accepting reality (when it feels difficult) is giving up? It’s actually quite the opposite. Accepting reality helps you problem solve better. When you truly know and accept the reality of a situation, you can identify the options you have and more readily choose a good plan of action moving forward. So don’t avoid reality. Lean into it and be truly present. Your future will thank you.

10/10/2024

October 10th is World Mental Health Day! Together let us support one another in seeking the help we may need, break down barriers and reduce stigma.

05/25/2024

Here’s the rub: maintaining relationships help you fight depression, yet depression makes you want to pull-back or withdraw from your relationships.

But…. There can be a way out! Opposite Action — a tool that comes from Dialectical Behavior Therapy or DBT — can help get you onto solid ground.

The idea here is simple: Do the opposite of what your depression is telling you to do. Not easy to enact, but when people do this consistently over time, they often see their mood improve and energy return.

A good CBT or DBT therapist can help you learn this (and many other skills) to help you re-engage with your life and feel less depressed.

05/22/2024

Anxiety can make us think that we need to be certain of how things will go before we do them. You know – be sure you can make the sports team before trying out, or be sure that you will get the job before applying. The need for certainty or wish to control the outcome of things can make us hesitant to do things that we aren’t 100% sure of.

And when perfectionism is involved, it’s even worse – making us think that we need do the thing perfectly before we try. This can be really limiting and make us feel stuck and even more afraid.

As. strange as it may seem, tolerating uncertainty is the path to feeling less anxious. Not the other way around. And,
perfectionism lies to us – since we can’t grow without making mistakes.

So, if you think that you’re putting too much pressure on yourself to be perfect — at work, at school, as a parent, or partner… ask yourself a few questions:

🎯 Am I being kind to myself or self-critical?

🎯 What would I tell a friend in the same situation?

🎯 What is a more reasonable expectation for myself, or anyone facing this situation?

🎯 Will this matter in 2 days, 2 weeks or 2 months from now?

See if thinking those questions through can help shift your perspective and drop some pressure.

Next, check in on what you’re doing:

🎯 Are you over working, or not asking for help because you
think you should be able to do it on your own?

🎯 Are you feeling so much pressure that you’re afraid to try
or are you procrastinating and avoiding the things you need to do?

If so, encourage yourself to take a step, and act opposite to the wish to avoid it. You may just find that you are more able than you think, and if you make a mistake (we all do), you may just learn from it and be more equipped to face the challenge next time.

You’ve got this, one (uncertain) step at a time. 👍🏽

05/07/2024

Worry is the unhelpful combination of overestimating danger and underestimating your ability to cope.

‘Overestimating danger’ is all of those pesky “WHAT IF” questions. “What if something bad happens? “What if I fail?” “What if this panic never goes away?” “What if I get fired?” “What if my teen doesn’t get into college?

“Underestimating your ability to cope” refers to the “I CAN’T” responses to those questions. This sounds like: “I can’t handle that.” “I can’t do this. “I just know I’ll fail.” “This panic will never end and I can’t deal.”

But here’s the thing... Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help! You can learn how to move from the “what if” questions and “I can’t” responses to “It may happen and I can handle it.”

And when you do that, you can gain freedom from worry.

05/02/2024

Did you know that Michael Jordan didn’t make his high school basketball team, or that Oprah was fired from her first newscaster job — before creating the most successful talk show in history? Lots of very accomplished people fail before they succeed. But the pressure on teens and young adults to succeed is so great today, that they are working themselves into the ground trying to achieve perfection. The problem is — perfection is impossible, and having such high unattainable expectations so young is leading many to have high levels of anxiety and depression.

Anxiety makes things even worse, since anxiety often sends teens (and adults) the message that they need to be in control of what happens and be “certain things will work out & work out well” before we try. This limiting message makes many individuals with anxiety feel stuck and afraid.

The simple truth is that tolerating uncertainty is the path to feeling less anxious, more confident and more in control. We can’t make progress without making mistakes sometimes. It’s all a part of learning, growth, and development.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help teens and adults with perfectionistic standards to adjust their perspective and behavioral approach (e.g., overworking, increasing anxiety, procrastination, etc.). And when they learn to drop some of their perfectionism, they tend to become less anxious, less depressed, and more effective in taking steps towards their goals.

04/30/2024

Perinatal OCD can be experienced by parents, whether or not they are a childbearing parent. It can affect parents of any gender and can occur during the pregnancy period and/or after the baby’s birth. There is no need to struggle in silence or alone, as there are treatments that work.

The gold standard treatment is Exposure and Response Prevention (E/RP), which is a specific type of cognitive behavioral therapy for OCD. This treatment can stand alone and/or be combined with medication.

Be sure to work with a licensed mental health provider that has specific training in E/RP and not just CBT for Anxiety. All of the psychologists at CBT Westport are well trained in E/RP, and two psychologists are currently accepting new adult clients.

/RP

04/24/2024

Dr. Caron will be facilitating a book discussion about Michelle ICard’s new book on 5/15 at the Fairfield Public Library, before Ms. Icard comes to Fairfield on 5/20 to offer Fairfield CARES Community Coalition’s keynote address at their Annual Community event! Read the book and come with thoughts and questions for CBT Westport’s director, Dr. Annalise Caron.

On May 15, Fairfield CARES will host a community book discussion with local child and adolescent psychologist Dr. Annalise Caron. Caron will talk about the new book, 8 Setbacks That Can Make a Child a Success: What to Do and What to Say to Turn Failures into Character Building Moments by Michelle Icard. To learn more about this free event visit https://fplct.librarymarket.com/event/fairfield-cares-community-book-discussion-102110 Fairfield CARES Community Coalition