Contribution to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by Aaron Beck - Essay Example

?Running Head: Aaron Beck and CBT The Role in Which Aaron Beck and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Has Played a Role in the History of Psychology Professor University CBT and Aaron Beck The first theories in psychology arose from the deterministic approach of the psychoanalytics. As more was learned about human behavior, psychologists started learning that not all behavior were biologically determined. This played a critical role in the development of the fields of psychiatry and psychological therapy. Learning how humans cope and assimilate meaningful information is the fundamental viewpoint, which complements the biological factors. For a while, most of the field of psychology was based on scientific research and the study of human behavior. As the behavioral and biological sciences were studied under greater scrutiny, the field of therapy developed. Each different field of therapy was influenced by the research being done at the time. Therefore, each theory of counseling developed as a byproduct of the attitudes and research of the time. One of the more recent therapies to develop was Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, developed by Aaron Beck, which has been used successfully in treating many different types of behaviors and disorders. Brief History of Psychology Originally, the Greeks began to take into account the metaphysical nature of philosophy and how the spirit played a role in human consciousness. They concentrated on the humors and the “spirits” that were bringing so called maladies upon people. Then the start of modern psychology began with Freud. The fundamental debate of nature vs. nurture has shaped all history in psychology. The psychoanalytics favored the biological perspective in that disorders were the result of biological abnormalities in genetics. After witnessing that there was more to human behavior than genetics, psychologists began to explore the role that the external behavior played in the role of the development of a person. While the first schools of psychology operated mostly on theory, as the role of science and statistical analysis took over, more theories gained significance that was provided through data. Then, there was a revolution called the cognitive revolution in which psychologists began to take a closer look at the role in which thought patterns played in determining human behavior. Due to the cognitive revolution, a new era in psychology was developed. Taking on the dual approach of how human behavior and thought patterns are intertwined, Aaron Beck was able to take theories of both of these psychological avenues in order to combine then in a psychological Biography Aaron Beck was born on July 18, 1921 in Providence, Rhode Island. His childhood was not that of an ordinary one having living through the death of his sister and the slipping of his mother into deep depression. He therefore began to train his mind and learn how to develop his internal locus of control. As a result of this experience, he learned how to deal with the irrationality of his life and the problems that he faced through cognitive functioning and restructuring, which would later become an essential component of his development of cognitive behavioral therapy. After specializing in the field of medicine, he became the director for the Center for the Treatment and Prevention of Suicide. Beck became famous for the use of psychometrics as a way of assessing behavioral disorders such as the BDI, Beck’s Depression Inventory, and BAI, Beck’s Anxiety Inventory. As a result for his contributions and research in the field of psychotherapy and research, Beck has received many honorary nominations, positions, and awards (Schultz, 2005). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a type of therapy technique that involves direct communication with a therapist. It is a goal-based therapy where the therapists functions more as a guide rather than as an all-knowing counselor. CBT is also a hybrid of the cognitive theory approach with behaviorism. Beck believed that the internal locus of control was key in order to do therapy in that people’s behaviors and disorders were the result of an irrational thought pattern that had developed. As a result, his therapeutic technique is based on correcting the abnormal thought patterns in order to promote a change in the behavior that the client wants. Goal setting is what fundamentally allows this change to occur. This is accomplished through discussing the irrationality of the problems with the therapist as well as through homework assignments. The homework assignments can consist of readings, exercises, and other techniques as a way of restructuring the irrational thoughts. As a result, the time frame for which this therapy can occur is based on the complexity and number of problems the client wants to overcome. Overall compared to other types of therapy, CBT therapy lasts the shortest. Another unique, but common feature of CBT therapy is that it is often used in conjunction with the use of psychopharmacology (Corey, 2009). Symbiosis of Behavior and the Cognitive Revolution Developmentally in psychology, this shows a bridge of two different philosophies that have developed throughout psychology. Behaviorism was the first to start developing after the psychoanalytics and was based on empirical research that could be physically observed. Then the cognitive revolution took place in which a greater emphasis was placed on the study of thought patterns in relation to how they played a role in behavior. Beck, as a result of personal experience and training, recognized that the two theories were intertwined. Therefore, the therapeutic approach of CBT was developed in order to bring a combination of both the original behaviorist prospective as well as the new ideas that were being formed from the cognitive revolution. In addition, the fields of psychology and psychiatry had been two very distinct fields. Those who were labeled as psychologists and therapists did therapy and psychological research. Psychiatrists were responsible for looking at neural anatomy in order to determine disorders and to correct them using medication. CBT requires that both the psychologist and the psychiatrist work together in tandem in order to increase the probability of success by providing talking therapy supplemented with the use of psychopharmacology. Use in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) CBT has been successful in treating a wide variety of clinical disorders. In particular, one of the most recent developments in CBT has been it’s use in trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that is characterized with symptoms such as irrational fears, flashbacks, extreme anxiety and depression that can come as the result of traumas such as child abuse, rape, military combat, etc. In a pilot study, the flexibility and techniques involved in CBT were able to show how the therapy was designed to treat those suffering from PTSD to learn how to overcome their symptoms as well as avoid situations, which might trigger symptoms of the PTSD. One of the reasons that CBT is so influential in the therapeutic treatment of trauma survivors is due to the principle role that memory plays in the disorder. Traumatic memories become a disease, which infects the brain and beings to arise through symptoms of anxiety, depression, and flashbacks. One of the tenants of CBT therapy is that the client must confront the moment in the “here” and “now”. As a result, when the client is having a reaction to a bad memory or stimulus, it is the job of the therapist to help the client stay in the here and now in order to confront the maladjusted memory (Ehlers, 2004). As a result of this pilot study, the use of CBT on therapy with PTSD sufferers has evolved, especially in those military veterans coming back from war. The combination of psychopharmacology in addition to counteract the neurological changes associated with long-term PTSD will he able to supplement the therapy that occurs in session in order to curb dysfunctional thoughts and behavioral patterns. CBT and Depression Another specific area that has been extremely influenced by the use of CBT is the area of depression, an area in which Beck had personal experience in as well as trained in. Depression is the result of feeling blue, however the clinical disorder is associated with a long-term depressive symptoms such as that can transcend into any portion of life. Some symptoms that can run co-morbid with depression are thoughts of suicide, changes in sleep patterns, changes in appetite, etc (“Major Depression”, 2011. Beck believed that depression was the result of corrupted thoughts that had influenced the behavior of the individual. He had been able to observe this with his mother after she had fell into depression as the result of his sister’s death and focused on it. Beck hypothesized that depression was the result of dysfunctional attitudes that are a reflection upon the individual’s attitudes toward themselves. From this, Beck came up with the Negative Cognitive Triad and how this plays a role in the formation of depression. It involves an interconnection of negative thoughts about the self, the world, and the future (McIntosh & Fischer, 2000). This incorporation of the cognitive viewpoint showed how it impacted the behaviorist perspective in combination with the theories that Beck formed about therapy. From this viewpoint, Beck employed the use of psychometrics as a way of figuring out how to assess depression on a clinical scale, which plays a role in determining how to employ CBT therapy. Contributions to Modern Psychology In the fast paced current world in which people live, there are inherent stressors that take a toll much more than they did in the past. An increasing job competition market is making the opportunities for job advancement less likely. The lack of jobs also is creating economic stress on families in an effort to support families. In addition, the debt crisis that is affecting the United States, as well as other parts of the world, is increasing the prices of goods and services for all. As a result, very few health insurance companies will offer funds in order to provide therapy for stress management. Unknown to most people, stress is a condition that can transcend into almost any disorder such as alcoholism, suicide, depression, domestic abuse, etc. Therefore, CBT offers a way in which therapists can tackle these problems in short, affordable sessions as well as providing homework sessions for them to practice in an effort to help reconstruct the correct thought patterns and behaviors in their lives. Criticisms of CBT Therapy Even though CBT therapy is met with much success, there has been some criticism regarding its successfulness. Some critics of the theory regard that sometimes it simply only works at bringing the issues into awareness, but does not do much in order to correct them. In addition, due to the fact that there are so numerous amounts of homework techniques that can be provided, it is hard to say which one has a greater effect on therapy, if there is any. Therefore, even though there are multiple ways in which this therapy is used, since there are so many ways of conducting the basic principles of CBT, this is what allows it to be used in many different types of situations and conditions (“Criticisms of cognitive”, 2009). Conclusion Aaron Beck was able to create his style of therapy as a result of his experiences that he obtained not only from his education, but also from the lifestyle in which he lived. As a result of his fundamental understanding of behavior and cognition, he was able to design a revolutionary style of therapy that incorporated the once two separate fields. In particular, the use of CBT has become common, especially being employed in stress-related disorders as well as depression. Beck’s use of psychometrics also allowed statistical measures to be adopted in order to help classify disorders on a continuum rather than as an absolute. Thus, the CBT view of therapy has been inconsequently valuable, as it requires the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and the counselor to occur in a significant way where neither client nor therapist are dominant in the relationship, but rather work together in order to help the client understand the irrationality of the thought patterns. In this progressive society, the use of short-term therapy sessions is not only beneficial fiscally, but also provides an avenue for self-growth rather than from what the therapist says. In the realm of the history of psychology, this represents a conglomeration of all fields of psychology into one. The use of psychopharmacology as a way of supplementing talking therapy represents the deterministic approach to dealing with psychology and the talking therapy represents the new methods of therapy that came as a result of psychological research. It also allowed the creation of multimodal therapy as well as REBT, or Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy. References Corey, G. (2009). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Belmont, CA: Thompson Higher Education. Criticisms of cognitive behavior. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.stresscenter.com/mwc/anxiety-treatment/criticisms-of-cognitive-behavior-therapy.html Ehlers, A. (2004). CBT of PTSD in Severe Mental Illness: A Promising Approach with Possibilities for Further Development. American Journal of Psychiatric Rehabilitation, 7(2), 201-204. doi:10.1080/15487760490476237 Major depression. (2011). Pubmed health. Retrieved August 3, 2011, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001941/ McGinn, L. K. (2000). Cognitive behavioral therapy of depression: Theory, treatment, and empirical status. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 54, 254-260. McIntosh, C. N., & Fischer, D. G. (2000). Beck's cognitive triad: One versus three factors. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 32, 153-157. Schultz, W. (2005). Handbook of psychobiography. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Read More