Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Theory Paper

Cognitive behavioral therapy differs in several respects from more traditional forms of therapy. It focuses on two specific elements: cognitive restructuring and behavioral activation. The client and therapist work together in cognitive restructuring with the goal to restructure thinking patterns. In behavioral activation, the client overcomes barriers to participating in activities. The main focus is on the present and on specific problems. cognitive behavioral therapy is a goal oriented and educational therapy, because goals for both the short and longer term are identified and it teaches the client to modify mood en behavior. The client has therefore an active role in learning e.g. coping skills. Multiple strategies are used in cognitive behavioral therapy, like imagenary, role

CBT has a number of strengths; first beginning with its capacity to yield empirical results as to its effectiveness. Countless studies have shown CBT to be the most effective treatment for anxiety and depression (e.g., Oei & McAlinden, 2014; Tolin, 2010); this is likely the result of a number of factors. CBT is a collaborative, educational, time-limited model that demystifies the therapy process; changes are made with clients, not to clients, the strategies learned equip clients to better navigate current and future difficulties, and the setting of goals allows clients to clearly see their progress (Corey, 2013; Skinner & Wrycraft, 2014). An additional strength of CBT for anxiety and depression is its applicability to both individuals and groups; group CBT has a number of auxiliary benefits including, vicarious learning, a sense of cohesiveness that can increase motivation, social interaction and the opportunity to help others (Oei & McAlinden, 2014).

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that aims to help a person manage their problems by changing how they think and act. It is a problem solving approach which recognizes that clients have a behavioral

Cognitive behavioural therapy has been proven to be effective in the treatment of child and adolescent depression (Lewinsohn & Clarke, 1999; Harrington et al, 1998, March et al, 2004). There is general agreement in the clinical literature that the techniques of cognitive behavioural approaches to therapy are likely to be effective in treating depression (Brewin, 1996; Beech, 2000).

There are many different forms of CBT and the target population varies depending on the form. Some of the many different forms include: trauma-focused CBT for children, CBT for late-life depression, and CBT for adolescent depression to name a few; each form has a variety of age groups intended as its target population. For example CBT for adolescent depression has the target population of individuals ages 13-17 and 18-25 whereas CBT for late-life depression has the target population of individuals ages 55 and older (NREPP, 2014) CBT differs from other forms of psychotherapy in the sense the sessions have more structure. Those with specific focus and goal may benefit more from CBT. It is less suitable for someone who feels vaguely unhappy or unfulfilled, but doesn’t have any symptoms or a particular aspect of their life they want to work on. CBT is effective for a wide variety of mental health disorders, including but not limited to mood, anxiety, personality, eating, substance abuse, sleep, and psychotic

CBT has no set definition but can be viewed as a scientific approach towards the understanding and improvement of human condition. Due to the advancement in the understanding of CBT, many different types of models have come into place (Rakovshik & McManus, 2010; Shafran et al, 2009) . As evidence based practice, it has become very popular and is at a rise due to its ability for causality in elicits situations and experiences. Despite some great success, not only dealing with addiction but has also proven effectiveness with psychoanalytic approach, it still holds some defects. In this paper, CBT approaches will further be analyzed and tested upon its effectiveness and how they have been criticized for further improvements.

CBT is a psychotherapeutic treatment that can be used to aid the patient. CBT is grounded on the idea that behavioral and cognitive approaches can help the patient cope with SAD better (Hope, Burns, Hayes, Herbert, Warner, 2007).

CBT was not directly a choice of possible theories. CBT is a more in-depth view of the broader theories of Cognitive therapy. While being a bit of a twist on words, CBT is often includes and studied as part of Cognitive therapy and Reality Theory. Because so many studies often overlap and show its effectiveness, it is believed that though CBT is a standalone therapy, there is a broader scope that includes Cognitive and Reality therapies as part of CBT. “CBT can substantially reduce the symptoms of many emotional disorders – clinical trials have shown this. In the short term, it’s just as good as drug therapies at treating depression and anxiety disorders. And the benefits may last longer.” (Martin 2013)

CBT is a relatively young model and theory. What we know as CBT, began in the 1950's with Albert Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavioral approach to therapy (Dobson, 2001). Later in the 1960's, Aaron Beck began using Cognitive Therapy in treating depression. (Barlow, 2001. 230) The origins of what we now know as cognitive behavioral theory is said to come from earlier theories and concepts. Credit can be given to early philosophers such as Kant (1782), theorists such as Alfred Adler (Individual Psychology), and behaviorists such as Joseph Wolpe and George Kelly . Frued can also be mentioned, albeit indirectly, for his theory was quite distressing to Adler who stated, “I am convinced that a person's behaviors springs from his ideas.” (pg 306. Milkman and Sunderwirth, 2010). Pavlov and Skinner can also be acknowledged, for their work in learned behavior and conditioning, which directly correlates to the concepts of cognitive behavioral therapy. More recently, A.

The main goal of CBT is to help individuals and families cope with their problems by changing their maladaptive thinking and behavior patterns and improve their moods (Blackburn et al, 1981). Intervention is driven by working hypotheses (formulations) developed jointly by patient, his/her family and therapist from the assessment information. Change is brought about by a variety of possible interventions, including the practice of new behaviors, analysis of faulty thinking patterns, and learning more adaptive and rational self-talk skills. (Hawton, Salkovskis, Kirk, and Clark, 1989).

One approach to treating depression involves addressing the cognitions that mediate the emotional impact of events in patients ' lives (e.g., Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979; Beck & Young, 1985). The proponents of this approach assert that it is not necessarily aversive events that lead to depression, but rather cognitions about those events. CBT involves helping patients modify cognitive distortions that may be negatively impacting mood. Many studies have shown cognitive therapy to be more effective than antidepressant medication (Blackburn, Bishop, Glen, Whalley, & Christie, 1981; Evans et al., 1992; Kovacs, Rush, Beck, & Hollon, 1981; Rush, Beck, Kovacs, & Hollon, 1977; Rush, Beck, Kovacs, Weissenburger, & Hollon, 1982). Some studies have shown cognitive therapy alone to be as effective as antidepressant medication (Elkin et al., 1989; Hollon et al., 1992) or combined cognitive/drug treatment (Beck, Hollon, Young, Bedrosian, & Budenz, 1985; Blackburn et al., 1981; Covi & Lipman, 1987; Evans et al., 1992; Hollon et al. ; Murphy, Simons, Wetzel, & Lustman, 1984). Yet other studies suggest that cognitive therapy adds to the efficacy of standard antidepressant drug treatment (Bowers, 1990; Dunn, 1979; Miller, Norman, Keitner, Bishop, & Dow, 1989; Teasdale, Fennell, Hibbert, & Amies, 1984). Other studies have evaluated CBT treatments that emphasize the

The key concepts of a cognitive behavioral approach have been broken down into a four-stage process. According to Corey (2016), “the specific unique characteristics of behavior therapy include conducting a behavioral assessment, precisely spelling out collaborative treatment goals, formulating a specific treatment procedure appropriate to a particular problem, and objectively evaluating the outcomes of therapy” (p. 349). The behavioral assessment is aimed at gathering as much detailed information about the client’s problem. This part of the process will also focus on the client’s current functioning and life conditions and taking samples of his or her behaviors to provide information about how the client typically functions in various situations. Lastly, the behavioral assessment is narrowly focused and integrated with therapy.

“The goal of CBT is to teach clients how to separate the evaluation of their behaviour from the evaluation of themselves and how to accept themselves in spite of imperfections” (Corey, 2009, p. 279). In CBT the clients are expected to change their current behaviour (normally full of automatic thoughts) to a more rational way of thinking. The clinician will challenge the client’s behaviour in order for the client to understand his or her behaviour and get alternatives to change his/her behaviour. When using CBT, the client’s behaviour changes when they are aware of the abnormal behaviour. This approach allows the client to focus on improving his/her wellbeing. This enhances the client’s awareness of an existing issue and that changes are necessary. The client will develop new coping skills to deal with the situation and develop a new way of thinking from negative (automatic thoughts) to positive (more realistic thoughts). Initially the client may not recognise that a problem exists, but through this process will get

CBT is an integrated approach using various combinations of cognitive and behavioral modification interventions and techniques (Myers, 2005). The aim is to change maladaptive patterns of thinking and behaving that impact clients in the present (Weiten et al., 2009). From a cognitive behavioral perspective Jane would be diagnosed as having faulty thinking and dysfunctional behavioral issues suffering from depression, and anxiety in the form of Agoraphobia (Weiten et al., 2009).