Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Approach

the client is modifying their core beliefs and gaining the skills to understand and adapt their faulty pattern of thinking.
Termination
CBT is a time limited therapy approach that therapist’s must make their clients aware of in the first initial session. Typical treatment sessions range in length from 6-14 weeks and preparations for termination of therapy typically begin in the first few sessions. Judith Beck recommends that therapists take a visual approach when discussing termination with clients by showing them a graph that depicts highs, lows, plateaus, and setbacks (1995). This visual can be a helpful tool to utilize throughout treatment in order to explain to the client the stages that occur as they are gaining skills and making changes

Since its establishment in the early 1960s by Aaron Beck, the cognitive behavioral approach has received testing on its effectiveness and continues to be researched today. The cognitive behavioral approach continues to be adapted, modified, and tested to determine its effectiveness in treating other mental health disorders with favorable outcomes. Judith Beck reports that there have been 500 outcome studies that have demonstrated the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy for a wide range of psychiatric problems, psychological problems, and medical problems with psychological components (1995). CBT is a go to method of treatment especially in regards to working with clients with a mental health diagnosis of depression or an anxiety disorder. While there has been favorable results within the research and outcome studies it is important to note specific factors that can determine success in treating these disorders. The therapeutic alliance between the therapist and the client is an important factor within this approach and one that could influence the effectiveness of treatment. This is why most guides to effective practice when utilizing this approach stress the importance of building a strong therapeutic alliance between the practitioner and the client and continue building this relationship throughout treatment. Another factor worth noting is that treatment is short term which means that practitioners must have highly structured sessions that focus on reducing the presenting problem for a client in a short amount of time. In order to appropriately utilize CBT it is important for practitioners to take the time to educate themselves on this theoretical perspective as well as specific therapy techniques in order to have satisfactory results with the clients they