Cognitive Model Of Mental Illness

As defined by experts, a mental illness is a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and involves changes in thinking, emotion, behavior, interpersonal interactions, daily functioning, or a combination. The causes of mental illness are complex and vary depending on the theories associated to the different biological, psychological, and environmental factors. The etiology of mental illness is based on five broad models: biological, psychological, behavioral, cognitive, and social.

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.

Cognitive therapy, now called cognitive behavioral therapy was developed by Aaron Beck. Beck believed that dysfunctional thought processes and beliefs are responsible for an individual’s behaviors and feelings. He also believed that individuals’ have the ability identify these distorted thoughts and change them to more realistic thinking in order to relieve their psychological discomfort. This type of therapy is designed to be a short-term, straight-forward and structured approach to counseling in which counselors and clients work together. I strongly identify with cognitive behavioral therapy because I believe all behaviors are a result of incorrect thoughts and beliefs. Irrational and negative thinking can influence an individual’s ability to cope and deal with any difficulties they may be experiencing. I also like cognitive behavioral therapy because it briefly includes a client’s historical background in its approach to counseling. I feel that counselors should include a client’s past experiences when trying to understand at what point the client’s incorrect assumptions developed. I believe that everybody in this world always has a choice on how they handle and behave in their given situation and circumstances. In cognitive behavioral therapy, once the counselor and client have identified the irrational thoughts and evaluated whether there is any evidence to its validity, the client has the ability to choose whether or not they desire to change their distorted ways of

There are multiple components of cognitive behavioral therapy. People develop faulty beliefs throughout trials in life. Thoughts and feelings can become a dysfunctional part of a person’s character. Faulty belief systems can affect a person’s life in a multitude of ways. Faulty belief systems can develop into problematic behaviors that negatively affect a person’s relationships with family, friends as well a person’s work relationships. One example, if a person thinks they are unattractive, that person may develop a low self esteem. A person with a low self esteem can make choices regarding relationships that may be detrimental to the person.

“A mental disorder (mental illness) is a psychological pattern that is generally associated with a defect or disease of the individual’s mind. It causes a disability that may affect an individual’s behavior patterns in ways that are not part of one’s normal development or culture. Mental disorders are common in the United States. Within any given year, nearly 25 percent of adults and slightly over 20 percent of children are diagnosable for one or more mental disorders. While mental disorder appears to be widespread among the population, the main burden (or threat) emanates from about 6 percent of those who suffer from a debilitating mental illness.” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2011)

Many people have mental issues nowadays. Whether they weren’t whooped enough as a child or if they really do need help. Mental illness are believed to be biologically based. Anxiety, major depression, obsessive compulsive

It is difficult for anyone to deal with strange thinking and bizarre and unpredictable behavior. Imagine what it must be for families of people with mental illness. It is bewildering, frightening and exhausting. Even when the person is stabilized on medication, the apathy and lack of motivation can be frustrating. A mother mentions how her daughter, when asked to put her clothes in the closet, looked at the freshly pressed blouses for over an hour before making a move to hang them up. What was a matter of routine for this young woman in the past, now seemed to take an inordinate amount of time. Even though the parent knew it was not so, she had to fight the feeling that her daughter was deliberately not doing this one, small task.

A psychological disorder, also known as a mental disorder, is a pattern of behavioral or psychological symptoms that impact multiple life areas and create distress for the person experiencing these symptoms. These symptoms are characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual 's cognitive, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental process underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress in social, occupational, or other important activities. Approximately 26 percent of American adults over the age of 18 suffer from some diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. (Cherry)

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.

Our current mental health systems has many faults, but we are making progress identifying those afflicted with mental illness. More and more research is being done to help identify causes of these disorders. There have been advancements in new prescription medications and better treatment options too. Many mentally ill patients fall through the cracks - they end up homeless or in prison. We still have a long way to go because prisons can't be used as a form of treatment for the mentally ill.

Compare and contrast the various models of abnormal functioning using evidence from current psychological research.

There are several models of abnormality in use today (Comer, 2009) lists “The Biological Model…”, “The Psychodynamic Model…”, The Behavioral Model…”, The Cognitive Model…”, The Humanistic-Existential Model…”, The Sociocultural Model…” (p.33). The biggest contrasts would be the Biological model, and the other models. Comparing the biological model, and the cognitive model will highlight those differences.

Cognitive Theory claims that behavior can be changed through changing faulty thinking, irrational thoughts, automatic thoughts, or learned cognitive misconceptions. When a client has negative images of themselves or their accomplishments, it sets the pace for their behavior, perceptions and expectations; when that thinking is exposed as faulty to the client, the client can then begin to change their behavior based upon restructured, truer images of reality. It has been shown to be effective therapy for individual, group, marital and family treatment, in treating depression, addiction, anxiety, PTSD, personality disorders, and some organic conditions such as schizophrenia, and in many social work settings, such as child welfare, private practice, mental health, crisis intervention, and health care.

Abnormal behavior was once viewed as an embarrassment to society. Those who suffered from a mental illness or displayed abnormal behavior were locked away and never spoken of. Today abnormal behavior is viewed much differently. With the study of psychology and the help of the medical field, abnormal behavior has become better understood. This essay will discuss the major theories for the cause of abnormal behavior, how abnormal behavior is diagnosed and what type of behavioral issues are related to abnormal behavior.

Mental illness is a disorder that is considered to be a type of interruption in a person’s emotions, thoughts, or behavior. Mental illness signifies to a wide variety of disorders which can range from mild distress to impairing a person’s ability to function in daily life. Signs and symptoms of mental illness can vary, depending on the particular disorder, circumstances and other factors. Whether a behavior is considered normal or abnormal varies on the person’s situation surrounding their behavior. Throughout history there’ve been three overall beliefs for the causes of mental illness. These three theories are known as supernatural, somatogenic, and psychogenic. Each one of these stands for how one is viewed when seen as having a mental illness.