Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

The Nature of People

When it comes to the nature of people I believe that we are what we want to become. This means that it does not matter what life changing or negative event may have had an impact in your life it is your choice how you let it affect you. I believe we have the ability and resilience to overcome these stressors and change the outcome of our lives. I believe that if we change our outlook on life we will be able to change our life as a whole. For this exact reason I believe Cognitive behavior therapy fits best with my beliefs. Cognitive behavioral therapy is grounded in the belief that it is a person’s perception of events, rather than the events themselves, that determine how he or she will feel and act. For example, if a

person with anxiety has an intense belief that everything will turn out badly for them then these negative thoughts can influence him or her to focus on those things that can be seen as negative all the while impeding or avoiding thoughts or actions that may refute that negative belief system. Afterward, when nothing appears to go right the person may feel even more anxious than before, the negative belief system may be supported, and the person is at risk of being confined in a continuous cycle of negativity and anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapists believe that by modifying our thoughts we in turn, directly influence our emotions and behavior. This adjustment process is referred to as cognitive restructuring. Aaron T. Beck, the psychiatrist known to be the father of cognitive therapy, believed that a person’s thinking pattern became established in childhood and that certain cognitive errors could lead to depressive or dysfunctional assumptions.

The Individual in Families and Other Systems

Results from various research studies have shown that for some cases when working with youth, family-based cognitive behavior therapy is recommended. In family-based cognitive behavioral therapy; both children and caregivers learn about how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected and how to challenge thoughts and behaviors to change negative patterns of relating to one another. Families learn how to communicate their feelings and thoughts more effectively. Parents learn how to support and encourage their child to face his or her fears and better manage anxiety. They also learn strategies to manage their child's anxiety without giving in to or reinforcing their child's unrealistic fears. Families learn problem solving strategies that increase adaptive coping and decrease maladaptive patterns such as avoidance.

Multicultural Considerations

For empirically-supported treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral therapy a constant point of criticism has been the belief that structured treatments are inflexible and do not take into account individual characteristics.  In reality, most of these treatments provide a great deal of flexibility when it comes to applying the treatment to specific clients. A great example is the emphasis that CBT places on the individuality of the client by arguing that the treatment should be adapted to meet the needs of the client. Along with this adaption it has a strong focus on the empowerment of the individual with the principle belief that clients have the power to both control and bring about change for themselves. This principle allows the establishment and growth of collaborative client- therapist relationship in which the client and their cultural differences are valued. Furthermore, CBT focuses on processes which are conscious and in the moment and on specific behaviors. This element is specifically important when the therapy is directed in a client's second language or in some cases with an interpreter.  Research shows that there is a negative correlation between fluency in a 2nd language and emotional distress.  A therapeutic process that stresses theoretical and conceptual ideas can result in a greater risk for misunderstanding between the therapist and the client. Another advantage would be that Cognitive- Behavioral therapy integrates assessment throughout the course of therapy. This cognitive-behavioral assessment records progress from the client's perspective. It is this emphasis on continual assessments throughout the therapeutic process which demonstrates the commitment and dedication of the therapist for the client’s perspective and opinion which is especially important to clients and therapist that differ in background. CBT can be adapted to specific aspects of culture without changing the basic work and techniques of the therapy rather instead they integrate and appreciate diverse beliefs into the standard CBT procedure. 

Wellness and Prevention

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can be used to help individuals take control of and adjust habits that prevent them from enjoying life to its full potential. Considered as one of the most effective tools in behavior modification this therapy encourages self awareness, counseling the patient to examine the relationship between feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Studies of cognitive-behavioral therapy have shown its potential to treat a wide variety of emotional and mental imbalances.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy can alleviate mood disorders, tendency toward substance abuse, anxiety disorders, eating disorders and personality disorders.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy can also effectively treat sleep disorders and psychotic disorders. Cognitive-behavioral therapy has proven to create noticeable change in brain activity. These results have helped establish cognitive-behavioral therapy as one of the most trusted methods for improving healthy brain function in individuals who suffer from involuntary negative behaviors, self-limiting beliefs, or debilitating fears. Cognitive-behavioral therapy requires real interaction between the therapist and the patient. Cognitive-behavioral therapy may include homework assignments, carrying the therapy outside the therapist’s office and into real life. In addition, cognitive-behavioral therapy patients may be asked to write down thoughts as they occur. Creating an awareness of these so called automatic thoughts is the first step towards learning to change thought patterns and the behaviors they

create.

The Nature of Problems

People often experience thoughts or feelings that reinforce or compound flawed beliefs.

Such beliefs can result in problematic behaviors that can affect numerous areas within our life including family, relationships, work and academics. For example, a person suffering from low self-esteem might experience negative thoughts about his or her own abilities or appearance. As a result of these negative thinking patterns, the individual might make certain decisions to avoid social interactions or pass up opportunities for promotions at work or at school. In order to contest these damaging thoughts and behaviors the therapist begins by helping the client identify these problematic beliefs.

A type of Cognitive-Behavioral therapy created by Albert Ellis called Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy points out that irrational patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving are the cause of much human disturbance, including depression and anxiety. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy teaches that turning flexible preferences into ambitious or grandiose demands and commands will cause disturbances. This Therapy holds that an irrational belief system has strong tendencies to lead to self-defeating components such as; demands, awfulizing, low frustration tolerance, people rating, and

overgeneralizing.
It is therefore ones own evaluative belief system which is based upon fundamental viewpoints or values that can create unrealistic and subjective distortions in thinking. Essential to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is that most absolutistic ways of thinking will most likely create unnecessary disturbances. These inflexible philosophies are replaced with more flexible, self-helping attitudes. The healthy alternative to this rigid way of thinking is unconditional acceptance of humans; not of their behavior, but those things that are considered to be unchangeable.
Disturbed evaluations occur through overgeneralization, which is when one exaggerates usually unwanted events or traits or behaviors while ignoring the positive events or traits or behaviors. This same exaggeration and overgeneralizing takes place with human evaluation, in which humans are defined by their flaws or crimes. Basically bad behavior makes a bad. Frustration intolerance occurs when one sees that tasks are more difficult or boring than one would like but in turn exaggerates the gravity of this to something that is too hard, too much, or beyond what one can stand. Many of these self-defeating beliefs are both naturally biological and taught in early life and might grow stronger as a person continually revisits them.

The Process of Change

Through cognitive behavioral methods such as rational emotive therapy the clients are taught to exchange their rigid musts with more flexible and non- rigid preferences. In turn, this exchange is more likely to cause healthier and more positive behaviors. This approach states that irrational beliefs can be quite noticeable in how people talk to themselves. The therapist focuses on finding those beliefs within the client that are deep-rooted and philosophical evaluations of themselves and the world around them. These beliefs and perspectives are in most cases the automatic causes of negative interpretations. Due to these automatic causes REBT points out that unconditional self-acceptance, other-acceptance and life-acceptance is of utmost importance in achieving mental wellness. Their belief is that people and the world are fallible therefore people should accept themselves, life's struggles and others as is. REBT holds the point of view that ideas and feelings about self-worth are not empirically provable (Ellis, 2003).
Through the REBT process it is believed that change is within the client and they have to work hard in order to get better and this can be achieved through such techniques as homework assigned by the therapist. Among such assignments desensitization tasks can be found in which the client confronts the very thing he or she is afraid of. In most cases Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is a short term therapeutic process which focuses on specific problems but when working with deeper problems prolonged therapy may be needed. Another factor contributing to the short term of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy is that the therapist helps the client learn how to get better through hard work, and through acquiring coping skills to get through future adversities. A perfect model of what would be considered a successful partnership between the REBT therapist and the client would be if the outcome of the therapeutic process results in changes to the client's philosophical way of evaluating himself, others, and his life which in turn is likely to produce effective results. The client's better move toward unconditional self-acceptance, other-acceptance and life-acceptance.