An Individuals Behavior Is Recognized by His Reaction - Essay Example

? Cognitive/Behavioral Theory An individual’s behavior is recognized by his reaction to a certain of affairs, his emotional quotient and his thought process. Cognitive behavior falls under a huge subject of cognitive psychology that deals with the study of human behavior. The subject focuses on what people perceive from hearing and vision, how individuals think, how they respond to a stimuli and how much they recall and retain after a lesson. Cognitive-behavioral remedy also closely correlates with linguistics, neuroscience, and philosophy. Furthermore, some aspect of this theory deals with enhancing the capacity of an individual memory to keep hold of more information and also enhance a person’s decisive capacity. In this paper, I will analyze the most significant goals of cognitive-behavioral theory as well as its strengths and weaknesses. Further, the paper will focus on how the theory can be applied in the field of substance abuse with a guide line of the most appropriate stage of treatment. Cognitive/Behavioral Theory According to William & Jane (2009), Albert Ellis observes that, cognitive-behavioral theory is the thought process that involves grasping the knowledge, recalling it, putting it into practice, developing beliefs on it, reasoning it and holding on to it. Therefore, this theory deals with the descriptive study of how the notion of cognition plays a significant role in shaping the behavioral blueprint of an individual. Precisely the term cognition means to recognize and to conceptualize. Before looking at the significant goals of behavioral theory, I will momentarily discuss the account of the theory. The history of behavioral theory dates back to 1950s. The major proponent of behavioral theory at that time was an American psychologist known as Albert Ellis. He proposed that the human inclination is that the individual always strives to remain happy, but life denies the individual, such a chance. According to him, the feelings of sorrow and sadness are not only caused by circumstances and events, but also the beliefs and thought process of the individual. Precisely, men are affected by the meaning that they give to events (William & Jane, 2009). Nick & Peter (2007) observes that the second proponent of behavioral theory is Aaron Beck (1960s). He developed the cognitive-behavioral therapy to care for patients suffering from anxiety and depression. His argument was that people suffer from anxiety and depression because of a preconceived negative evaluation of themselves. The third proponent is Albert Bandura. He proposed that aggression significantly causes the cognitive behavior of an individual. This aggression emanates from accumulated emotions over a long period. The above three proponents are the founding fathers of behavioral theory. With such knowledge on the origin of cognitive-behavioral theory, the paper will now focus on the goals of this theory. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a goal oriented, short term psychotherapy treatment that solve problems practically (Nick & Peter, 2007). The goal of this approach is to change the pattern of behavior and thinking that lay behind individuals’ difficulties. This will change the way these individuals feel, think and behave as they find meaning in their world (Marty, 2004). If one changes the perception of an individual, then the individual can live a happy life by accepting change in their life. The chief goal of cognitive-behavioral therapy is help clients to learn better coping mechanisms and skills to handle challenges in life. Furthermore, cognitive-behavioral theory is dedicated to facilitating human beings to live lives that are fulfilling (Marty, 2004). Cognitive-behavioral theory seeks to comprehend the thought processes of human beings and change the way that such people interprets life situations. Nick & Peter (2007) assert that Cognitive-behavioral theory has a unique approach that helps people to know the things that are making them nervous. If the cause of anxiety is something that an individual can change, the theory provides the blueprints that the person can follow. If the stressors are beyond human control, then the individual understands the sense in leaving them and only handling what they can influence. Strengths The strength of this perspective is evident to the extent that it is different from other approaches by attempting to understand human thoughts and the cause of human behavior. This strength is demonstrated by the process of cognitive-behavioral therapy (Deborah & Keith, 2009). The nature of relationship that a therapist tries to establish between him, and the client is unique. The therapist does not encourage the client to be dependent on him. This is significant because it avoids any incidences of dependency syndrome from the client. The perspective favors a relationship that is mutual between the client and the therapist, which should be practical and problem-centered. The therapist will always involve the client actively and ask for their opinion about the progress of the healing process (Donna, 2006). Clients can inform their own therapy process by giving their opinion about the whole process. This relationship is called collaborative empiricism and it stresses the idea of the client and the therapist working together to achieve the objectives of cognitive-behavioral therapy (Deborah & Keith, 2009). The client and the therapist can jointly test the best ideas of cognitive-behavioral therapy that will work for the client’s problems and individual situation. Further, the hypothetical outline covers many features of learning, and this broadens the resource base for reference. A therapist can also use instructional technology in learning to administer therapy to distant clients. This is noteworthy because it saves time and resources (Donna, 2006). Last but not least, the client gets help from a therapist to focus on a goal that is clear, and he can automatically respond to cues of that goal. Weaknesses If the patient is in a condition where the incentive for the correct response does not happen, the client might not be able to respond appropriately. Clients are trained to respond in a certain way if they come across similar future problems (Deborah & Keith, 2009). Secondly, owing to the stimuli-response features of cognitive-behavioral theory, the effectiveness of cognitive therapy treatment is ineffective outside the office of a therapist. The third weakness is that cognitive-behavioral therapy is not helpful to everyone, and it is not suited for all circumstances. Furthermore, the approach calls for a strict commitment from the client who should persistently improve and tackle his health perils. The work of the therapist is only to help a client and facilitate them to achieve their health objectives (Donna, 2006). Cognitive-behavioral therapy encompasses much homework for the client, some of which could be too difficult to handle. Problems that cause distress and anxiety are immensely challenging to handle. Cognitive-behavioral theory in substance use field In the treatment of substance abuse and drug dependency, cognitive-behavioral therapy aims at teaching the individual to recognize the circumstances, which predispose them to abuse drugs (Aaron et al, 2001). The individual should avoid predisposing circumstances and deal with other behaviors, which may direct them to substance abuse. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has two components that can be used to treat substance-dependency in individuals. These components include skills training and functional analysis (Pedro et al, 2009). In the functional component, the patient and the therapist try to recognize the circumstances, feelings and thoughts of the client before and after substance use. Functional analysis helps the client to realize the signs of a relapse (Aaron et al, 2001). Skills training help a patient to develop better coping mechanisms to deal with life challenges. In the application of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the field of substance abuse, the therapist helps the client to unlearn previous practices and learn better habits and skills (Pedro et al, 2009). The chief goal of cognitive behavior therapy is to inform the substance abuser to change their perception of the substance that they abuse. They should also learn new techniques to cope with the circumstances that led to their drugging episodes in the past. According to Pedro et al (2009), the best time to introduce cognitive behavior therapy to a patient of substance abuse is at the onset of dependency. At this time, the situation is controllable. However, late dependency can be extremely hard to treat. The patient should be willing to change his behavior for the therapy session to be productive. In conclusion, cognitive behavior falls under a huge subject of cognitive psychology that deals with the study of human behavior. Cognitive-behavioral theory is the thought process that involves grasping the knowledge, reasoning it and holding on to it. The objective of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the field of substance abuse is to teach the individual to recognize the circumstances, which predispose them to abuse drugs. References Aaron, T.B., Fred, D.W., Cory, F.N. & Bruce, S.L. (2001). Cognitive Therapy of Substance Abuse. New York: Guilford Press. Deborah, J.D. & Keith, S.D. (2009). Evidence-based Practice of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. New York: Guilford Press. Donna M.S. (2006). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Clinicians. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Marty, S. (2004). Cognitive-behavioral Theories of Counseling: Traditional and nontraditional. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher. Nick, C. & Peter, L. (2007). Theoretical Perspectives for Direct social work practice: a generalist-eclectic approach. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Pedro R., Eric C.S. & John L. (2007). The Substance Abuse Handbook. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. William T.O & Jane E.F. (2009). Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Applying Empirically Supported Techniques in Your Practice. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Read More