Cognitive Behavioral Theory Paper

My personal theoretical orientation to counseling is Cognitive-Behavioral therapy. Cognitive-Behavioral therapy helps the client to uncover and alter distortions of thought or perceptions which may be causing or prolonging psychological distress. The theoretical foundations of CBT are essentially those of the behavioral and cognitive approaches. CBT leads to a clear, persuasive, and evidence-based description of how normal and abnormal behavior develops and changes (Kramer 293). The term “cognitive-behavioral therapy” or CBT is a term for therapies with many similarities. CBT is not used as a cure and often times used to help with anxiety or depression the most, and may be single or in group settings. There

Cognitive therapy is one of the few theories that have been extensively scientifically tested and found to be highly effective in over 300 clinical trials. It focuses on the immediate or automatic thoughts the client has and how these thoughts affect their feelings and behaviors. The goal of cognitive therapy is to identify these thoughts that are poorly affecting the client. Then teach the client how to identify these automatic thoughts and how they can effectively change them. Through the very structured sessions of cognitive therapy, a client should essentially learn the tools to be their own cognitive therapist for future problems they may encounter. The therapy session will not make them an expert but they will be better prepared to

Behavioral Therapy (BT) and Cognitive Therapy (CT) are two of the most common therapies used my psychologists/therapists today. In this paper I will be discussing how BT and CT approach the many aspects of the therapeutic process, including, but not limited to, the focus of the therapy and how the therapist approaches a client’s problems. As a conclusion, I will be comparing the overall beliefs and practices of cognitive and behavioral therapies.

As a counseling student, it is very important to formulate a counseling theory tailored to ones’ own personality and beliefs. A counselor may choose a single theory to model when practicing therapy or pick and choose components and techniques from various theories, otherwise known as eclecticism. No theory is considered right or wrong. Understanding the different therapeutic approaches are important to effective counseling, however, counselors must also understand their own personal value, view of human nature, human behavior, counseling techniques and the purpose and goals of counseling. Understanding these components along with the different theoretical approaches will provide the counselor with a 9 knowledge of their own counseling, orientation and is essential to not only the productivity of counseling but the growth of the counselor as well.

Unlike Person-Centred therapy Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a scientific model founded in the 1960’s by Aaron Beck. It joins the theories of both Cognitive therapy and behavioural. He noticed that many of his counselling clients had an “Internal dialogue” (Beck, 1979) that was often negative and self-defeating and influenced behaviour. He realised that by working on these internal dialogues and making them positive it could effectively lead to positive changes in the behaviour of the clients. CBT focuses on the images, self-belief and attitudes held by the client and how these things can affect the client’s

From the time of the advent of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and therapy until now, psychologists have searched for new and better ways to both understand and treat the human psyche. Many psychologists have spent their lives analyzing the complexities of human thought, behavior, and interactions with societal influences in order to find new ways to guide humans towards a more fulfilling human experience. Throughout time, various theories and models of therapy have emerged, each with their strengths and weaknesses in their efforts to help humanity live more fulfilling lives. Psychoanalytic, Adlerian, existential, person-centered, gestalt, behavior, cognitive, cognitive behavior (CBT), reality, feminist, postmodern, and family systems approaches have all made important contributions towards the evolution of psychological theory and therapy. One of the most widely accepted and practiced forms of theory and therapy in today’s world of psychology is CBT. Cognitive-Behavior Therapy has a rich and storied history, contains more inherent strengths than weaknesses, and provides effective treatment for a variety of psychological conditions.

In this class we’ve learned that both Behavior Theory and Cognitive Behavior Theory both help explain human behavior through an A-B-C model or method. What are the A-B-Cs of Cognitive Behavior Theory?

After reading the article by Robert Puff, there are examples of both cognitive behavioral theory and conflict management. First, cognitive behavioral theory is the idea that cognition, emotion, and behavior all interface with each other which is displayed in the article through a patient named Felicia. One night, Felicia’s husband made a wounding comment regarding her weight. After, her husband immediately apologized feeling extremely culpable for his damaging words towards his wife. Consequently, Felicia self esteem was severely damaged. Sadly, Felicia continued to allow the comment to linger in her mind for a decade without overcoming it for herself. In result, the comment affected how Felicia thought, felt, and acted which related back to

The philosophy of cognitive behavioral therapy is that “think and feeling are connected people are creative (Halbur & Halbur, 2015, p.47)”. The key aspects of theory are to challenge the irrational beliefs that we hold about ourselves. Aaron Beck the primary founder of cognitive behavior theory assumed that people can control how they feel and what they think. He believed that our inner thoughts and beliefs affected how we are affected on the outside. One of the key concepts is that the client’s dysfunctional thinking can be derived from an erroneous internal process or bias.

Being grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy has led the author to study and read works from Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. Arnold Goldstein. Although these individuals are very different, they are also alike in many ways and lead this author to her theoretical orientation. Dr. Ellis emphasizes

Counseling is a process that enables a person to sort out issues and reach decisions affecting their life. Often counseling is sought out at times of change or crisis, it need not be so, however, as counseling can also help us at any time of our life” (Woods, 2005). Counseling theories are used by counselors as part of their treatment plan for clients. There are many types of theories that counselors can choose from. These theories are usually hosen based on the client needs and what the counselor feel will be most effective. Counselors are not limited to just one theory when it comes to treating their clients. Theories can be used in conjunction with one another to effectively treat clients. Counseling does not just involve theories

When the therapist asked the client about her thoughts of dealing with this situation, the client reported that she feels sad, but at the same time, she is using her coping skills such as distracting herself by playing with her dog or watching the T.V. When the therapist role play with the client how to negotiate with the mother her concerns about her fears from the consequences and how she can trust the mother to tell her about anything making her sad or angry, especially when her sister annoying her, the client reported that she is always afraid because her mother is shouting and blaming her. When the therapist told the client about the next family session and how she can talk about her fears with the therapist and the mother, the client reported that she will do it and feels that the therapist will help her. When the therapist asked the client about the TBS coach who will visit her at home and at school to help her to behave well and control her behaviors, the client reported that she is happy that she has another therapist will help

Cognitive Behavior therapy is a very useful primary therapy modality used in many treatment strategies. Cognitive behavior coaching, counseling and educational interventions are very useful, practical and helpful in the initial phase of the treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a primary treatment modality which is focusing on the symptom relief and behavioral change. The Cognitive Behavior approach includes behavioral therapy, family and society intervention. Cognitive Behavior therapy is basically an experience with the emotional or behavioral problem and show the patient behaviors to deal with these problems (Mash & Wolfe, 2007).

Today Cognitive behavioral Therapy has been influenced by two major therapeutic approaches: firstly, Behaviorism as developed by Skinner, Pavlov and others in the 1950s and 1960s, where the main research was related to rewards and punishments, or stimuli’ and their response. Second is Cognitive therapy which was introduced or made popular by Beck and Ellis in the 1960s. CBT by definition is a form of treatment that focuses on examining the relationships between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. By exploring the patterns of thinking that lead to negative actions and the beliefs that dictate these thoughts, families can identify and change the patterns in order to

Bandura’s (1977) Social Cognitive Theory provides an explanation to the crucial peer relationship. The theory examines the relationship between person, environment (watching others) and behaviour. Bandura suggested that these are all influenced by the individual’s self-efficacy. According to social cognitive theory, children and adolescents tend to avoid behaviours that they believe will be punished and, instead, engage in behaviours that they believe will be rewarded (Bandura, 1977). Peer support is seen as a way of reinforcing certain behaviours, for example, by giving praise and encouragement for attributes that may boost the individual’s self-efficacy. Schultz and Schultz (2015) emphasised the importance of self-efficacy and suggested that