The Syracuse Safer Streets program proposed by the mayor's office looks to reduce gun violence. One of the biggest aspects of it is cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. What is it?

“The whole goal of CBT is helping clients to refrain from unhealthy thinking patterns," said Ashley Williams, the owner of Cardinal Hope Mental Health Counseling.

As a mental health counselor, she uses cognitive behavioral therapy to teach her patients how their thoughts affect them.

“[We are] really focusing to help clients identify unhealthy thinking patterns and help them discuss and process how it then affects their emotions and also behaviors," she said.

CBT has been used to reduce gun violence throughout the United States. According to Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, it's cut re-offending for at-risk individuals by up to 50%.

“A lot of the work is more like solution-based of where we’re reframing the thoughts, changing it from something that’s unhealthy to something that’s more productive based in reality, based in the present time," Williams said.

The work includes journaling, role-playing and muscle relaxation.

“[We are] helping the client to follow that unhealthy thinking pattern all the way to the end to see what the worst possible outcome is," she said. "Most of the time they realize that the thought really wasn’t worth it.”

The director of the Syracuse Mayor's Office to Reduce Gun Violence, Lateef Johnson-Kinsey, believes CBT is one of the most important aspects of the program.

"Being able to say if we don’t get along, if we have an issue, we walk away from each other," he said when referring to CBT.

It provides a resource high-risk individuals haven’t had.

“[We are] giving people toolkits to deal with anger, to deal with being upset with another person or dealing with generational beef," said Johnson-Kinsey. "That means your neighborhood and this neighborhood don’t get along. Why? And why has it been going on this long when you weren’t born when this stuff happened?”

As part of the Safer Streets program, CBT is being used to hopefully show people violence isn't their only option.

“[We are] taking your time to establish that rapport with a client and helping them to implement CBT is beneficial," said Williams.

“Mental wellness, not mental health but mental wellness," said Johnson-Kinsey. "How do we get you well so you can be a positive citizen in our community? That’s through cognitive behavioral therapy.”