Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Coursework Example

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Name Institutional affiliation Tutor Date Abstract Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the numerous psychotherapeutic theories. In particular, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is used to treat maladaptive behaviors that lead to negative emotions, actions, and thoughts. The theory underlying this therapy focuses on changing the behavior and cognitive processes of people suffering from psychiatric and psychological problems. This paper seeks to analyze the theory of cognitive behavioral therapy in terms of its historical foundations, the applicability of the theory, and the strengths and weaknesses associated with the theory. Cognitive behavioral therapy Introduction to the theory of cognitive behavioral therapy The field psychotherapy is characterized by numerous theories seeking to explain the occurrence of many different psychiatric disorders. The cognitive behavioral therapy is founded on the cognitive model which addresses the way that individuals perceive situations and the subsequent effects that these perceptions have on the behavior of an individual in terms of Thoughts, actions, and feelings. When individuals undergo bad experiences that, for example, cause them distress, their perspectives on reality are affected causing them to have distorted thoughts. In line with this, cognitive behavioral therapy is meant to help individuals with unrealistic perceptions identify the causes of such perceptions and in turn change their behavior. In essence, therefore, cognitive behavioral therapy is all about effecting behavior change by solving perception problems. History of cognitive behavioral theory The history of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) dates back to the classical period when human problems were addressed through the behavioral approach. In particular, according to Dobson (2009), the radical approach to behavior drew from the principles of operant and classical conditioning to effect behavior change. However, the idea of associating human behavior with cognitive processes had not been explored until the 1950s, until the rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) was introduced by Albert Ellis. This theory uses the A-B-C framework in order to understand the client’s behavior, feelings, events, and thoughts (Westbrook, Kennerley & Kirk, 2011). Here, the therapist analyses the activating events, the client’s beliefs, and the consequences of negative behavior ensuing from the events and beliefs. The idea of CBT is the brainchild of Aaron Beck, a psychiatrist who practiced in the 1960s. Aaron discovered that during therapy sessions, clients seemed to be feeling and thinking about something but did not fully report such kind of thinking to the therapist (Bieling, McCabe & Antony, 2013). Consequently, Aaron realized that it is important to link the feelings of an individual with their thought processes because most of these thoughts were negative and unrealistic. As such, an individual having such thoughts would be required to identify them in order to be able to overcome them. As a result of the relationship between feelings and thoughts, Aaron named his discovery “cognitive therapy.” According to Aaron, cognitive distortions stemmed from systematic errors in reasoning. Aaron was of the opinion that depression is caused by a negative cognitive triad stemming from negative schemata and biases in cognition of an individual, thus causing negative evaluations of events and situations (Beck & Dozois, 2011). Basically, Cognitive therapy is not very different from REBT only that the former relies more on inferential thinking while the latter relies on evaluative thinking. In inferential thinking, the client has negative thoughts about themselves, while in evaluative thinking; the client evaluates the negative consequences of their negative attributes. During the 1970s, Kendall & Hollon were the first to integrate behavior into the cognitive theory model by coming up with the “cognitive-behavior modification” theory (Dobson, 2009). The idea of incorporating behavior in cognitive therapy was advanced by Donald Meichenbaum, who has been very monumental in the development of CBT. Meichenbaum made the proposition that individuals can always be taught how to handle life stresses in much better ways (Sue, Sue & Sue, 2010). In particular, Meichenbaum came up with the self-instructional training (SIT) approach in which an individual with mental distress was required to engage in healthy self-talk, which resulted in higher task performance among children. According to Dobson (2009), SIT today is used to treat people with mental handicaps, especially the youth. Additionally, Meichenbaum came up with the theory of stress inoculation training (SIT) which uses a three step process aimed at changing an individual’s emotional response and behavior, thus averting the likelihood of stress. The assumption here is that individuals experience stress as a result of negative interpretation of events. Individuals are trained to manage stress by being educated about the stressors, being equipped with skills for managing stress, and finally applying the learnt skills in stress reduction (Westbrook, Kennerley & Kirk, 2011). The argument that emotional reactions by individuals are mostly based on the perceptions that these individuals have on reality as opposed to the authentic reality, was introduced in the 1970s. The structural approach used in CBT was first used in 1980s when Gidano & Liotti realized that the understanding of emotional disorders required that the individual understood themselves and the world at large (Dobson, 2009). In recent times, however, CBT is seen as being more oriented towards focusing on the acceptance of various ways of thinking and behaving, as opposed to the accuracy of individual perceptions. According to Corey (2013) the acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) was developed in the early 2000s to further advance the scope of the behavioral model. Types of problems cognitive behavioral therapy is most useful CBT is mostly used as an intervention approach to manage mental disorders. Fundamentally, CBT is most useful in treating people with distorted thinking, unrealistic beliefs, relationships problems with others, and negative behavior. CBT is used to treat issues such as anger management, chronic pain, drug and alcohol addiction problems, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mood swings, sexual and relationship problems among many other behavioral and emotional problems (Arch et.al, 2012). Essentially, CBT helps people learn skills on how to cope with diverse problems, change their behaviors and beliefs, form new relationships, and solve life problems. In particular, CBT is very effective on people with negative thoughts that seem to be automatically generated in their minds. The presence of negative thoughts during an event often influences the mood of the individual, thus putting a strain the emotions of that particular individual. According to Westbrook, Kennerley & Kirk (2011), the fact that negative thoughts have negative effects on the emotions of an individual makes it necessary for therapists to address negative thoughts very early in the therapy sessions. On the other hand, core beliefs are those assumptions that individuals hold to be true, and are often acquired very early in an individual’s life, particularly during childhood. Although such beliefs are usually very dangerous as they can cause severe mental distress, cognitive behavior therapists do not see it necessary to address them early on in the therapy sessions (Westbrook, Kennerley & Kirk, 2011). According to Peat (2014), CBT is very effective in treating eating disorders. In particular, CBT has been successfully used to treat bulimia nervosa, a binge eating disorder. In this case, CBT is considered crucial in the identification and modification of eating behavior so that an individual with an eating disorder is able to make healthier choices. However, as Grilo et.al (2011) writes, although CBT is effective in treating eating disorders, the intervention does not lead to weight loss. Strengths of cognitive behavioral therapy One of the major strengths associated with CBT concerns the fact that this intervention can be used to treat a wide range of psychiatric and psychological disorders. According to a study conducted by Hofmann, Asnaani, Vonk, Sawyer & Fang (2013), CBT can be used to treat psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and eating disorders among many other disorders. In addition, unlike most of the other psychotherapies that operate per individual, CBT according to Bieling, McCabe & Antony (2013) has been effectively used in group therapies. The use of group sessions means that therapists are able treat many people at once such that more people get help soon enough. According to Westbrook, Kennerley & Kirk (2011) CBT, unlike other types of psychotherapies uses a structured approach that defines the contents of various sessions. This means that the therapist helps the client to set specific goals that the two are going to work towards. Such restructuring leads to effective and efficient time usage. Another point of strength in CBT concerns the fact that the counseling sessions encourage the client’s independence, thus empowering the client. A major strong point for CBT is concerned with the long-term effectiveness of the intervention, considering that the effects of the intervention have been proven to persist after the treatment period (Westbrook, Kennerley & Kirk, 2011). Weaknesses of the cognitive behavioral therapy Despite the numerous advantages associated with CBT, the theory also has a number of limitations. For example, CBT has been proven to be very successful in helping people with well-defined psychiatric problems, but does not address the problems faced by the average person (Westbrook, Kennerley & Kirk, 2011). The fact that someone does not have a clear problem does not mean that they are not in some sort of distress. Accordingly, the CBT theory should, in future, focus on the needs of the average people who are under distress but their problems are not well defined. In addition, although CBT has been proven to be very successful in treating anxiety disorders, it is not as effective in dealing with psychosis. Most clients suffering from psychotic disorders are reported to suffer from relapses as the short-term effects of CBT erode overtime (Beck & Dozois, 2011). This means that although CBT is effective in providing treatment that can last longer than other treatments, the theory is not exactly fool-proof. Another point worth noting is the lack of cost-effectiveness of CBT as compared to other non-CBT strategies. The high costs attributed to CBT come from frequency by which clients are forced to undergo follow up treatment. The structured nature of CBT treatment is also a cause of concern considering that it does not accommodate the needs of people with complex mental illnesses or difficulties in learning. These groups of people may find it very hard to adhere to the structures put in place by their therapists. As a result, CBT ends up being of no help with people whose mental faculties do not allow them to follow a structured process. Therapists using CBT focus on the present issues affecting an individual and pay no attention to past experiences that might have led to unrealistic perceptions. According to Sue, Sue, & Sue (2010), the failure to try and resolve past issues means that CBT is more likely to miss out on certain factors in an individual’s past that might be causing them present problems. In such a case, therefore, if the underlying cognitive difficulties of an individual are not addressed, the individual may not heal completely and may continue being distressed. Essentially, although CBT has been proven to be more effective in reducing relapse cases, the exact amount of time that an individual who has undergone CBT can last without a relapse is unknown. Conclusion Ideally, Cognitive behavioral theory is based on the proposition that human behavior is affected by cognitive activity, the latter which can be monitored and altered in order to bring about behavioral change. The theory, based on the early work of Aaron Beck seeks to enable an individual with mental distress identify the sources of such distress and consequently come up with mechanisms for dealing with the associated negative behavior. In comparison with other types of psychotherapies, CBT is more effective in terms of the duration it takes for the result of the treatment to be manifested. Also advantageous is the fact that unlike many other theories, CBT works well in group settings, thus allowing for the treatment of many people at a time, thus leading to multiple benefits over a short period of time. Nonetheless, CBT is not without its faults, especially considering that the theory is at times selective of who benefits from the therapy, for example, sidelining people with complex mental illnesses. For instance, although CBT has been proven work best for people with anxiety disorders, the effectiveness of the theory in dealing with psychotic disorders not as effective. In addition, the fact that the theory pays no attention to past events that may have been the source of distress is a major loophole that can lead to the failure of the therapy process. Therefore, despite the profound success of the CBT theory in managing psychiatric disorders, future developments should work towards finding ways in which CBT can treat a wide range of psychological disorders. References Arch, J., Eifert, G., Davies, C., Vilardaga, J. P., Rose, R.D., & Craske, M.G. (2012). Randomized clinical trial of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) versus acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for mixed anxiety disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80 (5), 750-765. Beck, A. T., & Dozois, D. (2011). Cognitive therapy: current status and future directions. Annual review of medicine, 62, 397-409. Bieling, P., McCabe, R., & Antony, M. (2013). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Groups. NY: Guilford Press. Corey, G. (2013). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Dobson, K. (2010). Handbook of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies. New York: The Guilford Press. Grilo, C., Masheb, R., Wilson, G. T., Gueorguieva, R., & White, M.A. (2011). Cognitive–behavioral therapy, behavioral weight loss, and sequential treatment for obese patients with binge-eating disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79 (5), 675-685. Hofmann, S., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I., Sawyer, A., & Fang, A. (2012). The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36 (5), 427-440. Peat, C. (2014). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Eating Disorders, 105-125. Sue, D., Sue, D., & Sue, S. (2010). Understanding Abnormal Behavior. Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Westbrook, D., Kennerley, H., & Kirk, J. (2011). An Introduction to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: Skills and Applications. Oxford: Sage Publications Ltd. Course Paper Grading Rubric ***This grading rubric must be included as that last page of your paper*** Elements PSYC371 Course Paper Grading Rubric (include as the last page of your paper) Points Possible Points Earned Content and Directions: Content: Does the paper cover the subject as thoroughly as possible? Does the paper demonstrate a thorough personal understanding of the subject? 35 Guidelines: Did the student stay within the guidelines given? 35 Spelling/ Grammar: Minus 2 points per mistake (30 point max) 30 APA format: Cover Page: Title of paper, student name, running head, page number 5 Abstract: Contains an abstract that is properly formatted 10 Headings: Correct level – title, all topics, references 20 Margins/ Spacing: 1” margins, and everything double-spaced 5 References: 5 References shown, correct format 15 Proper use of Citations and Formatting 45 Total 200 Instructor’s Comments: Read More