Hi, I'm Dr. Vanessa Gomes, a CBT therapist on Long Island helping adults learn to manage intrusive thoughts, overcome depression, and heal from past traumatic experiences.
You keep worrying about the same things over and over again. The mind works overtime, only to get stuck in loops. The constant checking, the need for reassurance, and the “what ifs” won’t stop.
The shift happens when you learn to use tools to interrupt these patterns and move through life with steadiness.
Therapy helps you understand what is maintaining this cycle and what you need to do to change it. Through CBT, you will gain practical skills to stop your unhelpful thoughts and gain control of your life.
Reach out and schedule a phone consult to see if we are a match.
Anxiety doesn't have to control your decisions. CBT gives you practical tools to interrupt the patterns keeping you stuck.
CBT focuses on understanding the connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. The idea is that the interpretation of the event and not the event itself drives the emotional experience and behavioral response.
Transforming how you feel begins with a shift in perspective. By learning to step back and re-evaluate your thoughts, you gain the clarity needed to break through the patterns that have been narrowing your life for too long.
CBT gives you concrete skills to recognize patterns as they happen and respond differently. Sessions are structured, collaborative, and focused on building tools you can use independently over time.
Cognitive behavioral therapy recognizes that how you interpret situations shapes how you feel and what you do.
CBT helps you:
Rather than trying to eliminate or get rid of uncomfortable thoughts, CBT teaches you what to do when they appear in your mind, changing your relationship with them.
CBT helps you:
CBT works because it addresses the maintaining cycles of your struggles.
CBT helps you:
Different CBT techniques address different maintaining patterns. Some help you recognize and challenge unhelpful thinking. Others help you gradually face situations you’ve been avoiding.
Still others help you rebuild engagement with activities that bring meaning. You will also learn to re-engage with activities that are important to you and bring meaning to your life. Your treatment plan is tailored specifically to your needs and uses the techniques that are relevant to what’s keeping your patterns in place.
Cognitive restructuring teaches you to notice, examine, and RESPOND to unhelpful thoughts.
Cognitive restructuring helps you:
When depression or anxiety lead to withdrawal, behaviors themselves become maintaining factors.
Behavioral activation helps you:
Exposure involves gradually facing situations or sensations you’ve been avoiding.
Exposure therapy helps you:
CBT works with people dealing with anxiety, depression, and trauma. These issues often involve patterns in thinking and behavior that can be interrupted. Through CBT, people learn to work with these patterns differently.
Anxiety often involves patterns of thinking that keep worry loops going. The mind jumps ahead to worst-case scenarios, and physical tension follows. This response makes sense. The nervous system is trying to protect itself by staying alert. Working with a therapist helps people feel less alone in this struggle and discover that patterns can shift.
Depression often brings heaviness where nothing feels worth the effort. Motivation disappears alongside hope. Withdrawing from connection seems like the only option. This makes sense as a survival response, even when it deepens isolation. With support, people discover that small shifts in action can gradually reconnect them to life.
Trauma leaves the nervous system in protection mode long after danger has passed. The body remembers what the mind sometimes tries to forget. This vigilance made sense once. It kept you alive. Healing involves learning that safety is possible now and the nervous system can learn to trust again.
I’m a psychologist with over 19 years of experience helping adults, children, and teens overcome anxiety, depression, and trauma. I received my CBT training from the Beck Institute and have been in private practice since 2019.
I specialize in working with high-achieving professionals who want practical, focused support to interrupt patterns and move forward with clarity. My approach is collaborative, and I work at a pace that feels manageable. I believe therapy should create real change, not endless talking without direction.
The initial assessment is 55 minutes. We’ll talk about what brings you to therapy, what patterns you’re noticing, and what you want to change. I’ll ask questions to understand how these patterns are affecting your daily life and what approaches might be most helpful.
What happens in your first session:
My office is located in Port Jefferson, conveniently accessible via the Long Island Expressway and the Northern State Parkway.
Both in-person and online appointments are available for New York residents.
CBT focuses on the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. When you change how you interpret situations, your emotional responses shift, and your behaviors naturally follow.
CBT recognizes a pattern that reinforces itself:
CBT teaches you to break the cycle:
CBT addresses maintaining factors rather than just symptoms:
Change happens gradually through practice:
CBT is one of the most researched psychological treatments, with extensive evidence supporting its effectiveness across many mental health concerns.
CBT effectively treats multiple anxiety conditions:
CBT addresses various forms of depression:
For post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress reactions, CBT helps:
CBT is highly effective for children and adolescents dealing with anxiety, depression, behavioral challenges, and emotional regulation difficulties.
Child and adolescent CBT uses age-appropriate modifications:
For younger children:
For adolescents:
Both Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) are evidence-based treatments that focus on changing thought patterns and behaviors, but they have different emphases.
CBT is structured, time-limited, and goal-focused:
While DBT was initially developed specifically for borderline personality disorder and chronic suicidality, its focus is on emotional regulation and distress tolerance for a wide range of conditions:
CBT is typically recommended for:
DBT is specifically designed for:
Dr. Vanessa Gomes uses CBT as her primary approach, integrating DBT-informed therapy, exposure therapy, mindfulness-based practices, and attachment therapy when clinically appropriate.
Individuals seeking DBT specifically should connect with providers trained in comprehensive DBT protocols.
Trauma-focused CBT helps process traumatic memories, challenge beliefs formed during trauma, and teach the nervous system that safety exists now.
Trauma leaves the body in protection mode long after danger has passed:
Cognitive Processing:
Gradual Exposure:
Grounding Techniques:
Safety Planning:
Progress happens gradually:
Many trauma survivors benefit from combining CBT and exposure therapy. Dr. Vanessa Gomes integrates both CBT and exposure therapy in trauma treatment.
CBT treats depression by interrupting the maintaining cycles of negative thinking, behavioral withdrawal, and hopelessness.
Depression creates a cycle that reinforces itself:
Depression filters all experiences through a negative lens. CBT helps identify cognitive distortions:
When depression makes everything feel pointless, waiting for motivation doesn’t work. Behavioral activation involves:
Depression often involves deeply held beliefs:
CBT is an evidence-based treatment for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder.
Cognitive Components:
Behavioral Components:
Emotional Regulation:
Recovery from eating disorders typically requires a multidisciplinary team:
While CBT is effective for eating disorders, this work requires specialized training in eating disorder treatment protocols. Dr. Vanessa Gomes’ practice focuses on anxiety, depression, and trauma. Individuals seeking eating disorder treatment should connect with providers who specialize in this area.
CBT is designed to be time-limited and goal-focused. Most people experience meaningful improvement within 8-20 sessions.
Issue Severity and Complexity:
Consistency of Practice:
Life Circumstances:
Previous Treatment History:
Assessment and Goal-Setting (1-2 sessions):
Active Skill-Building (6-16 sessions):
Maintenance and Relapse Prevention (2-4 sessions):
Booster Sessions (as needed):
Finding the right therapist involves understanding credentials, asking informed questions, and trusting your sense of fit.
Look for providers licensed in your state:
These credentials ensure rigorous training and adherence to ethical standards.
The most effective CBT therapists have advanced training beyond basic licensure:
About Their Approach:
About Their Experience:
About Practical Matters:
Many insurance plans cover CBT when provided by licensed mental health professionals, though coverage varies significantly.
Most plans cover cognitive behavioral therapy when medically necessary:
Major insurance companies that often cover mental health services:
Before starting therapy, contact your insurance to clarify:
Even if your therapist doesn’t accept your insurance directly, you may have out-of-network benefits:
Some people choose to pay out-of-pocket even when they have insurance:
Research consistently shows that online CBT produces outcomes equivalent to in-person treatment for most conditions.
Studies demonstrate that online CBT is as effective as in-person therapy for:
The therapeutic relationship and your commitment to practicing skills matter more than the delivery format.
Consider these factors when deciding:
Many people benefit from combining formats:
The initial CBT session focuses on assessment, building rapport, and creating a collaborative treatment plan.
Your therapist will ask about:
The first session is also an opportunity for you to assess fit:
Your therapist will explain:
Together, you’ll identify specific, measurable goals:
After the assessment:
Whether you’re struggling with anxiety that won’t quiet down, depression that makes everything feel heavy, or trauma that’s keeping you stuck in protective patterns, support is available. Therapy doesn’t have to mean endless talking without direction. CBT offers practical tools that create real change when applied consistently.
