Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) in Denver

Trauma changes how you see yourself, others, and the world. Paul Wozniak, LPC, uses CPT because it directly addresses the "stuck points" that keep trauma alive long after the danger has passed.

These stuck points are the beliefs formed during or after trauma: "It was my fault," "I can't trust anyone," "The world is completely dangerous," "I'm permanently damaged." These beliefs make sense given what you experienced, but they keep you trapped in survival mode, affecting your relationships, your choices, and your sense of safety.

CPT helps you process what happened so those beliefs can shift and you can reclaim your life.

What is CPT?

CPT is an evidence-based treatment specifically designed for PTSD and trauma. Developed by the VA and extensively researched, CPT helps you process traumatic experiences and challenge the problematic beliefs that resulted from them.

Unlike some trauma therapies that focus heavily on prolonged exposure or sensory processing, CPT emphasizes the meaning you've made of the trauma—the conclusions you drew about yourself, other people, safety, trust, control, and intimacy. The therapy involves writing about the traumatic event to organize the memory and your thoughts about it, then systematically examining the stuck points that emerged.

Through Socratic questioning and written exercises, Paul helps you evaluate whether your trauma-related beliefs are accurate, helpful, or based on emotion rather than evidence. For example, if you believe "I should have known better" or "I could have stopped it," CPT helps you examine all the factors you're leaving out and develop a complete, compassionate understanding of what happened.

The goal isn't to minimize what you experienced or force positive thinking. CPT helps you see the trauma clearly, without the distortions that keep you stuck in shame, hypervigilance, or avoidance.

As your stuck points shift, PTSD symptoms naturally decrease. You'll likely still remember what happened, but those memories will lose their power to control your present life, allowing you to move forward with greater freedom and peace.