Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - Research Paper Example

?Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Cognitive behaviour therapy is refers to pragmatic, action-oriented treatment approach used in psychotherapy for significant mental disorders (Wright, 2006). It was developed by Aaron Beck who proposed that depression was the result of conscious negative thoughts of depressed individuals viewing the future as bleak and empty (Knapp and Beck, n.d.). Therefore, to review the framework of cognitive behaviour therapy, this paper discusses the crucial concepts of how the therapy works. In psychiatric cases, cognitive therapy utilizes belief systems to regulate the behaviour of an individual found to be suffering from certain self-inflicted conditions. This is concerning the use of thoughts to determine behaviour and feelings. Therefore, it cognitive behaviour therapy aims at helping patients understand distorted beliefs that affect the way they carry themselves and their emotions, while at the same time suggesting useful ways in which their condition can be corrected to fit appropriate attitudes (“Cognitive Therapy”, n.d.). In such cases, cognitive therapists work collaboratively with clients by taking an educational role and giving their patients the role of trying out new treatment methods. The methods are usually alternatives to their conventional and traditional methods of solving problems. This way, the therapist collects information to analyze various therapeutic strategies likely to succeed in treatment, as well as dysfunctional thoughts that a patient may have, inhibiting their well-being (“Cognitive Therapy”, n.d.). Theoretically, the belief system used in cognitive behaviour therapy are in the form of a therapists attempt to uncover the underlying assumptions borne by a patient. This is with regard to a patent’s rules or values that predispose them to depression, anxiety or anger. These are the belief systems that patients bear towards themselves relating to what they perceive themselves to be as well as how they would like to be. Such conceptions include the need to be understood by others, need to be perfect and sense of worthiness and approval among others. Therefore, therapists following this aspect of cognitive therapy are required to recognize the potential and belief systems for each patient, as well as the behaviour and thought process that is typical of them (Leahy, n.d.). Cognitive distortions are also called automatics thoughts and are conscious, spontaneous thoughts that are associated with negative emotions. They are the result of biases in the thought process and are categorized in a number of ways. Mind reading a cognitive distortion is based on the assumption that the patient already knows that which another person is thinking without adequate evidence. This way, one ends up having negative thoughts about themselves as they usually have no clue as to what the other person is thinking before drawing conclusions on what they think. Another feature of cognitive distortion is that of fortune telling that is characterized by pessimism about future events. This is based on negative occurrences likely to happen in the said future (Leahy, n.d.). In addition, patients that require cognitive behavioural therapy have a tendency to label and discount positive events. This is concerning assigning negative traits to themselves and other members of the society while downplaying their achievements. While downplaying achievements in society is considered modest, in cognitive therapy, any positive achievement by oneself or others is labelled as trivial and not worth mentioning, so that they do not count. Still on negation of events, patients tend to focus most of their energy on negative events where they rarely notice positive occurrences happening in the society or to them and, as a result, they tend to live depressed lives. The aspects of cognitive distortion are numerous, whereby all revolve around the aspect of negative attitudes and behaviours directed at society, and oneself, while at the same time questioning what other probable event would be probable to take place, in a negative sense. This refers to the way people think and feel emotionally whereby in cognitive therapy treatment is very important. In this case, cognitive therapy is used to help patients come up with new ways of coping with distressing situations in everyday life such as criticism and intimacy (Somers 2007). This occurs especially with individuals suffering from social issues such as low self-esteem and dealing with activities in the social sphere of life. As a result, therapists emphasize on behaviour change in order to reduce the occurrence of personality disorder such as anxiety and fear. This is in a quest to the free the individual from severe limitations to participate independently in everyday events. Therefore, therapists seek to expose the patient to the aspects of life they fear in a controlled and gradual manner. In this regard, the link between the feared event and the symptoms or behaviour triggered weakens allowing for the easy interaction with daily activities. In addition, it rids the patient of avoidance issues that lead to fear of participation in certain events, as there is fear of a certain behavioural event occurring triggered by the said stimulus. Thus, this creates the need for cognitive behavioural therapy to modify these reactions and thoughts (Somers 2007). In addition, cognitive therapy allows patients to work interactively with their therapists in setting goals that are likely to assist in correcting their condition, disorders and problems. Such would include short-term goals aimed at curtailing the problem and challenging the patient to get better. The other critical factor in cognitive therapy is the structure since they are usually short and last up to one hour in length for a predetermined period. Therefore, it is in the best of the therapist to structure the sessions so that the needs of the patient are fully met and their disorders appropriately lessened or fully eradicated. This way, therapists plan on what to cover rather than going through all the topics systematically, which may be redundant. This is in light of achieving preset goals that the person in treatment desires, thus promoting accountability, organization and progress (Somers 2007). In this aspect, as mentioned earlier, patients and therapists work collaboratively to put together a model of the problems that the patient experiences. This is a swell as factors contributing to the problems while keeping track of beliefs, mentioned earlier, and feelings associated with the said beliefs. Through this way, both patients and therapists can monitor changes in thoughts, feelings, behaviours, bodily changes, events and other people’s behaviours thus providing much needed explanations. This is concerning explaining causes and possible solution to problems faced by a patient. Such solutions include self-instructional training where the patient modifies his or her behaviour based on their own verbal direction; inoculation training; where the patient is expected to learn how to cope with mild levels of stress and problem solving therapy in which patients learn to control themselves (Knapp & Beck n.d.). In addition, patients can keep records of dysfunctional thoughts that provoke certain negative sentiments and behaviour. These can then be analyzed and used to help other patients or formulate alternative thoughts that do not cause distress (“Cognitive Therapy”, n.d.). Concerning prevention, cognitive behavioural therapy is known to be effective in the fight against depression and other personality disorders through which individuals go. This is because cognitive behaviour therapy affects communication and problem solving techniques that are critical in avoiding some of these conditions. This is following the common principle of preventing conditions rather than looking for cures when they have already progressed. Cognitive behaviour therapy is based on the premise that depression, the condition it is meant to prevent, is not caused by the occurrence of stressing events, but by the interpretation made of them (Angelfire, n.d.). In this regard, it aims at developing social, communication skills, as mentioned earlier, as well as problem solving, and cognitive restructuring skills as a preventive measure. The cognitive restructuring skills highlighted in this case mean the ability to replace dysfunctional negative thoughts with appropriate, positive ones for the patient’s wellbeing. The three levels of prevention can be used with people suffering from depression to prevent its occurrence. Primary prevention in this case, refers to protecting people, potential patients, before they develop any condition that threatens their wellbeing. In this light, for depression patients, measures include the identification of factors likely to cause depression such as traumatic conditions that affect an entire population. After this comes the need to educate the said population to cope with potential situations and change their attitudes and response. This is in a quest to change their cognitive processes and edit their automatic thoughts and their behavioural responses. In addition, it can be done by imparting communication skills to help in reaching out to society for help without fear. Secondary prevention, on the other hand, applies to when symptoms and the condition has already manifested itself. Therefore, the measures taken are meant to curb the development or decelerate the rate at which the condition proceeds. In the cases of depression patients, it is crucial to take measures to stop patients from taking drastic measures aimed at ending their suffering in reference to depression. Concerning this, patients are taught how to identify automatic thoughts and understand how they affect the moods they experience. Therefore, cognitive behaviour therapy helps in preventing progression of depression in patients. This follows the role of cognitive behaviour therapy in providing a secure environment that allows for success (Angelfire n.d.). Tertiary prevention with the use of cognitive behaviour therapy aims at assisting people in managing complications and long-term effects of the condition (Institute for Work and Health, 2006). Concerning depression patients, cognitive behaviour therapy puts the patients in a position to harbour positive thoughts that oppose automatic thoughts that are negative. In conclusion, cognitive behaviour therapy ha s played a crucial role in treating various personality disorders, as well as behavioural and affective ones. This is due to the key entities that therapists focus on to handle the said conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders. This happens through behaviour and cognitive modification, in relation to the thoughts that a person harbours. References Angelfire, (n.d.). Preventing Depression: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-CBT. Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/depression1/prevent_2.htm “Cognitive Therapy” . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wadsworthmedia.com/marketing/sample_chapters/0534531040_ch10.pdf Institute for Work and Health (n.d.). Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.iwh.on.ca/wrmb/primary-secondary-and-tertiary-prevention Knapp, P. & Beck, A. (n.d.). Cognitive Therapy; Foundations, Conceptual Models, Applications and Research. Retrieved from http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rbp/v30s2/en_a02v30s2.pdf Leahy, R. (n.d.). Introduction: Fundamentals of Cognitive Therapy. Retrieved from http://www.352express.com/wpm/files/40/arosnon02INTRO-2.pdf Somers, J. (2007). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publications/year/2007/MHA_CognitiveBehaviouralTherapy.pdf Wright, J. (2206). Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basic Principles and Recent Advances. Retrieved from http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/data/Journals/FOCUS/2634/173.pdf Read More