Testing Hypotheses of Clinical Assessments

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy. The effectiveness has been researched extensively over the years (Dobson, 2001). There are over three hundred published studies about the outcomes of cognitive behavioral therapy interventions. The main reason for this is that an ongoing adaptation of this form of psychotherapy makes it applicable to a vast amount of disorders and related problems (Rounsaville & Caroll, 2002). Despite the relatively great amount of studies on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy, questions still remain about the levels of effectiveness for different disorders, about the effects of

Constant assessment of the clients’ problems and cognitions is very important in evaluating if techniques are being effective. Often in the beginning there is an extensive interview process that can last several hours. This interview gives the therapist insight into the client’s past, what the current problems are, and client goals. The interview will allow the therapist to set up a structured plan for how the therapy will proceed.

Clinical assessments have their place in almost every facet of the psychological and educational realms. I have been tracking down and examining what the most important aspects of assessment are that come into play in regard to drug and substance abuse, custody battles, as well as the importance the role of adhering to the ethical standards of utilizing culturally informed assessments. Clinical assessments within mental health centers are carry great importance in the identifying underlying behavioral problems, diagnosis, and treatment of patients. Behind every assessment is a clinician who

I believe that the intake form reviewed all necessary questions needed to determine the client’s social and medical history to develop personalized goals for the client’s individualized treatment plan. I will begin to discuss the areas that the intake form reviews in order to obtain the necessary information to develop a treatment plan for the client.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is ubiquitous and a proven approach to treatment for a host of diverse psychological difficulties (Wedding & Corsini, 2014). There are copious of acceptable created experiments that show to be highly useful in treating anxiety disorders through GAD Generalized Anxiety Disorder approach (Fawn & Spiegler, 2008). The purpose of this assignment is to expound on the client’s demography and demonstrating concern. The first procedure in this assignment will consist of the required informed consent and the client background information. Thus, a succinct discretion of the theoretical framework of CBT will describe the theoretic framework of CBT therapy expended in this assignment (Wedding & Corsini, 2014; Fawn & Spiegler, 2008). The next steps will adherent on how information regarding the clients past and present is problematic amalgamated to form an evaluation and to construct the client’s treatment. In the midst of assessment or the evaluation process and schema is implemented to create the sessions, examination, and provide feedback throughout each session.

The practice that assist a therapist in determining a client diagnosis and the proper treatment plan that would resolve the issue surrounding the clinet’s diagnosis is Case Conceptualization and Treatment Planning. The clinet’s treatment plan must be appropriate and relational and this will alow any type of medication and adaptions to be adjusted if needed so that modifications and adaptations can be adjusted as needed (Altman, Briggs, Frankel, Gensler, and Pantone, 2002). The ultimate goal of case conceptualization and treatment planning is to discover complete findings in relation to the client. One approach is Existential Therapy. The human

Many advocates of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) believe that changing the way one thinks can greatly impact one’s emotional response (Shurick et al., 2012). In his 1985 cognitive theory of anxiety Beck asserted, “that maladaptive thought patterns play a central role in the development and maintenance of anxiety” (Beck, Emery, & Greenberg, 1985, p. 12). In his theory Beck proposes that cognitive change is necessary in the treatment of anxiety disorders, and that this can be achieved directly through cognitive restructuring (Nortje & Möller, 2008). In cognitive restructuring the patient and therapist collaborate to alter core beliefs as well as reappraise and reinterpret stimuli in a less negative way in order to reduce negative affect (Shurick

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term, empirically valid amalgamation of facets from cognitive and behavior therapies. Cognitive-behaviorists believe that psychological problems stem from maladaptivity in both thought and behavior patterns, whether self-taught or learned from others. Therefore, changes have to take place in both thoughts and actions. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is structured as collaboration between client and therapist, focusing on the present. A prominent aspect of CBT is the client’s duty to be an active participant in the therapeutic process (Corey, 2013).

The first stage of the process is assessment. Roper et al (2001) refer to this process as ‘assessing’ indicating an ongoing activity; this encourages nurses to recognise the on-going nature of this initial phase. The assessing stage includes gathering information about a patient, reviewing this information, identifying actual and potential problems and prioritising (Roper et al 2001). Roper et al (2001) explain the importance for assessing, as early as possible in the patient’s stay. Extensive, in-depth information may not be gathered on an initial assessment, however any information obtained contributes towards individualised care (Roper et al 2001). Ambrose and Wittig (1998) explain that the initial assessment becomes a foundation for ongoing assessing and holistic care. Barrett, Wilson and Woollands (2009) concord with Roper et al and Wittig in that assessing is an ongoing process and elaborate on this explaining that assessment should not be confused with admission. They state “an admission tends to be a one-off process when you first meet the patient, whereas assessment carries on throughout your relationship with the patient” (pg22). Assessment enables the nurse and patient to identify actual and potential problems. Although, some problems can be directly related to biological needs, holistic needs must be considered, i.e. psychological state and cultural/social standing

In clinical setting, the case formulation guides a therapist how to structure the sessions and by prioritising the client’s core problems, give rise to a plan and choice of intervention. Case formulation is an element of an empirical hypothesis testing approach to clinical work and has three main elements which are assessment, formulation and intervention. The process of case formulation starts with an unstructured ‘problem list’ (Persons, 1989), then proceeds to look for common themes which could suggest underlying beliefs, schemas and early life experiences. This supports CBT in standing up against criticisms made by psychodynamic theorists which states that CBT deals only with symptom reduction, having no underlying rationale (Persons et al., 1996).

Before Dr. Aaron T. Beck developed the idea of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the world of psychoanalysis was concerned with “invisible psychic forces” (Smith, 2009) that to him, a young graduate of medical school “seemed soft-minded and esoteric, more a faith than a medical discipline” (Smith, 2009). This mystical ability to find a seemingly sound analysis for every condition was alluring to Beck. As he evolved as a practitioner however, he sought empirical evidence to support these evaluations. This search led him to the development of CBT and to push for psychotherapy techniques that could be evaluated based on their ability to make measurable, practical differences in the lives of patients. The development of CBT opened the field of psychoanalysis to empirically supported methods and a more rigorous approach to treating patients.

The goal of cognitive behavioral therapy is to have a “structured, short-term, present-oriented psychotherapy for depression, directed toward solving current problems and modifying dysfunctional thinking and behavior (Beck, 1995, p. 1).” It has been shown successful in not only treating depression, but also a wide range of psychiatric disorders in various client populations. Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the cognitive model, which assumes that dysfunctional thinking is common to psychological disturbances. Realistic modifications of thinking can result in an overall improvement of mood and behaviors. These improvements ultimately come from the modification of the patient’s fundamental dysfunctional beliefs (Beck, 1995).

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.

A debate rages in psychology. It is not one of the usual kind, dwelling on a specific aspect of the mind or a new drug, but a controversy dealing with the very foundations of psychology. The issue is determining how psychologists should treat patients and on what psychologists base their choices. Some feel that they must be empirically-supported treatments, treatments backed by hard data and scientifically supported. Others feel that this standard for treatments is much too confining for the complex field of psychology and that many good treatments cannot be backed by hard data. The American Psychological Association President Task Force on Evidence-Based Treatment came out with a plan for psychology that effectively maintains a high

According to Seligman and Reichenburg (2014), “cognitive-behavioral therapy is not one approach, but a term applied to a coherent model that is open to and integrates new empirical findings about a pathological disorder into a new model of treatment for that disorder (344)”. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is structured and directive, relying heavily on the cognitive tools of psychoeducation, Socratic questioning, and inductive method. CBT interprets personality development as a process of combining introspectively reflective cognizance with learned response (CBT, 2010). It can occur through the interaction between the thoughts regarding one’s