CPT

CPT

MORE ABOUT CPT

Cognitive Processing Therapy

Trauma-Focused Therapy to Help You Take Back Control and Reconnect With Life

Do you feel stuck in the aftermath of a traumatic experience? Are you replaying events, avoiding reminders, or blaming yourself for what happened? Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) can help you process trauma in a safe, structured way, so it no longer defines your daily life.

At Four Wings Psychology, we offer CPT therapy in the Ottawa area and virtually across Ontario. Our experienced therapists use this evidence-based approach to help clients work through post-traumatic stress, regain emotional balance, and reclaim their lives with more clarity and self-compassion.

What Is Cognitive Processing Therapy?

CPT is a very structured, short-term form of cognitive therapy specifically developed to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma-related symptoms. It helps you explore how your trauma has impacted your beliefs about yourself, others, and the world,  and gently guides you to challenge and shift unhelpful patterns of thinking.

CPT helps you:

  • Understand how trauma has shaped your thoughts and emotions
  • Identify and question stuck points (rigid or extreme beliefs)
  • Reduce shame, guilt, and self-blame
  • Reconnect with values and a sense of purpose
  • Build confidence in your ability to cope and move forward

Trauma changes the way we think, but CPT can help you reclaim control of your story.

What Can CPT Help With?

CPT is one of the most effective therapies for trauma-related symptoms and conditions, including:

  • PTSD (from childhood trauma, abuse, accidents, violence, etc.)
  • Military or first responder trauma
  • Sexual assault or interpersonal violence
  • Medical trauma and traumatic grief
  • Complex PTSD or prolonged exposure to distress
  • Shame, guilt, or negative self-beliefs after trauma

Whether your trauma is recent or long in the past, CPT offers a path toward healing.

What to Expect in CPT Sessions at Four Wings Psychology

CPT typically involves 12 sessions, though this can vary based on your needs. It’s a goal-oriented, structured therapy that focuses on processing trauma-related thoughts, not retelling every detail of what happened. Sessions may include:

  • Education about trauma and its effects on the brain and body
  • Identifying “stuck points” (beliefs that maintain distress)
  • Practicing skills to challenge and adjust unhelpful thoughts
  • Exploring themes like safety, trust, control, self-worth, and intimacy
  • Written exercises between sessions to support insight

Our therapists create a safe, non-judgmental space for trauma recovery at your pace.

Why Choose Four Wings Psychology for CPT?

  • Therapists trained in evidence-based trauma therapies, including CPT
  • Compassionate, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive care
  • LGBTQ2S+ affirming environment
  • In-person CPT therapy in the Ottawa area and virtual sessions across Ontario
  • Support for adults with trauma

You don’t have to carry your trauma alone. CPT can help you heal from the inside out with tools that support real change.

Ready to Process the Past and Reclaim Your Life?

Cognitive Processing Therapy won’t erase your trauma, but it can help you shift how it affects your daily life. You can build a healthier relationship with your thoughts, strengthen your resilience, and reconnect with who you are outside of what happened.

GET HELP WITH CPT

Ready to work on this area?

Book a FREE 15-minute consultation with one of our therapists

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