An overview of cognitive behaviortherapy, focusing on the roles of the therapist and patient and how it compares to other therapies used in psychology.
3,720 words (approx. 14.9 pages), 6 sources, 2006, $ 133.95
Abstract This paper discusses cognitive behavioraltherapy and the elements of its practice. It also explores the therapist and patient roles of cognitive behavioraltherapy, and how it relates to other therapies currently used in psychology. Adlerian therapy, person centered therapy, existential therapy, Gestalt therapy, reality therapy, solution oriented brief therapy, multi-modal therapy, feminist therapy, and rational emotion behaviortherapy are discussed and contrasted to traditional cognitive behavioraltherapy. Through these comparisons a focus on the central characteristics of these therapies is evident, providing a framework for patients and professionals to determine which therapy would be most effective for the needs of particular patients.
Abstract The following discussion provides an evaluation of Cognitive BehavioralTherapy in the treatment of a female patient who suffers from alcoholism and depression. The writer points out that it is expected that this type of therapy is highly effective in the treatment of these problems, as it provides a greater understanding of the negative influences in life, as well as the positive.
From the Paper "For individuals that develop any number of psychological or emotional problems that require professional intervention, it is necessary to consider the many options that are available. There is a necessity to utilize specific techniques in order to treat such problems as depression and alcoholism, amongst others. With this in mind, the purpose of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a means of offering support for the management of these problems is a critical step in a positive direction for many patients. A wide body of research supports Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as an effective treatment for a variety of disorders, including the issues related to alcoholism and depression. The following discussion describes a specific case study involving a young female, who has suffered from serious bouts of alcoholism and depression concurrently, and has initiated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a means of supporting her wellness regimen."
Abstract This paper argues in favor of a combination of quantitative and qualitative data when evaluating cognitive behavioraltherapy (CBT) programs. Qualitative research methods are presented in the essay, including self-report questionnaires and rating scales, observational measures and interviewing. This is followed by a discussion on quantitative methods, which include meta-analysis and control groups. The qualitative methods focus mainly on the research methods of CBT in clinical practice, while the quantitative methods investigate the research methods of CBT in theory. Various approaches to evaluating CBT and issues arising from these methods are examined in the paper in order to encourage therapists to evaluate CBT program with extreme care.
Outline:
Single-case Experimental Designs (SCEDs
Qualitative Evaluation
Self-Report Questionnaires and Rating Scales
Observational Measures
Time Sampling
Self-Observation
Interviewing
Quantitative Evaluation
Meta-Analysis
Control Groups
Conclusions
References
Table 1
Questionnaires Frequently used in CBT
Table 2
Types of Control Group Used in CBT Outcome Studies.
From the Paper "In a many Counselling and Psychotherapy studies, research is often conducted through qualitative evaluation (attempts to assess what kind of change has occurred), rather than with quantitative methods, (deciding how much change has occurred). Conversely, CBT has, until quite recently, been dominated by the latter consideration (Ward, et al., 2000). At various points in this essay I will argue for a combination of quantitative and qualitative data as the sensible basis of evaluation for example with single-case experimental designs. Qualitative research methods discussed in this essay are: self-report questionnaires and rating scales, observational measures and interviewing, this is followed by a discussion on quantitative methods, which will include meta-analysis and control groups. The qualitative methods dealt with in this essay will focus mainly on the research methods of CBT in clinical practise, while the quantitative methods will investigate primarily the research methods of CBT in theory. Various methods of evaluating CBT and issues arising from these methods will be handled in this essay to emphasize the need for therapists to choose methods of evaluating CBT programmes with extreme care."
Abstract This paper reviews and analyzes Gestalt and behaviortherapy. According to the paper, Gestalt therapy is a psychological system that stresses integration of body and mind factors by developing self-awareness and personal responsibility. The paper goes on to discuss behaviortherapy, stating that there are several approaches to cognitive-behavioraltherapy, including rational emotive behaviortherapy, rational behaviortherapy, rational living therapy, cognitive therapy and dialectic behaviortherapy.
From the Paper "Therefore, the therapeutic process encourages the client to interact with the environment, as a group, as an individual, and on many different levels, with different techniques, from using battacca bats to whack furniture, to imaging and interacting with the image in their mind by conversing with it out loud. The techniques used in therapy vary as widely as the therapists and clients, from principles based on Holism, Field theory, figure formation, organismic, the concept of the Now and "unfinished business." The therapist dialogues with warmth and caring, yet remains "invisible," as the client is encouraged to interact with the field (environment). The client must think of him- or herself as an abstract area in a limitless "field," thus, therapy is "unpredictable," or follows moment to moment dictum. (Doermann, 2002)"
Abstract This paper discusses borderline personality disorder (BPD), a complex and severe psychopathology that is characterized by the presence of certain instabilities. According to the paper, the most commonly practiced interventions for the treatment of BPD are psychodynamic programs and dialectical behaviortherapy (DBT). The paper goes on to review DBT, which is based on dialectical philosophy and a biosocial theory of BPD.
Outline:
Mechanisms of Change in Dialectical BehaviorTherapy (DBT)
Research Supporting DBT
The Effectiveness of DBT in Males Versus Females
DBT Intervention Development
From the Paper "The benefits of DBT experienced by individuals with BPD may be enhanced through accompanied administration of psychopharmaceutical medication. Soler et al. (2005) examined the combined effects that DBT and olanzapine have on psychiatric symptoms experienced by individuals with BPD. Results of the study showed that this combined treatment was associated with significant improvements in anxiety, depression and aggressive/impulsive behavior in comparison to a placebo group. The researchers suggested that this combination therapy of DBT and olanzapine acts to lower attrition rates and is an overall effective treatment for BPD (Soler et al., 2005). Other pharmaceuticals may not prove to be so beneficial. A study by Simpson et al. (2004) demonstrated that the addition of fluoxetine to an already effective DBT treatment program is not additionally beneficial."
Abstract This paper reviews a study that explored the impact of cognitive behavioraltherapy (CBT) and the school success of students with anxiety disorders. The author presented the study's hypothesis and methodology. The paper also detailed the population that was used for the study. Finally the reviewer gave the conclusions of the study, which showed that CBT therapy over time will decrease overall anxiety in school children.
Outline:
Research Question
Hypothesis
Methodology
Sample
Results/Findings
Conclusion
Overall Effectiveness
Source Used
From the Paper "Finally, the sample size creates limitations on the generability of the results. Although the results did have overwhelming numbers, a sample size of 38 is inadequate to appropriate to other populations. However, it does raise awareness for educators and parents alike that school and social problems may have a root with an anxiety disorder and that it should not be discounted before an official diagnosis can discount such a cause."
Abstract This paper discusses and analyzes rational emotive behavioraltherapy (REBT) and the theory behind it. It looks at the three angles from which this therapy approaches the emotional healing process. The paper also discusses the therapist's role in REBT. The paper then presents a case study of a person who presents with depression and discusses how an REBT approach can help her.
Table of Contents:
The Presenting Problem
Case Formulation
Treatment Recommendations
From the Paper "Self-monitoring is only part of the process. Ellis states that people who have PTSD, such as WWII survivors, must deal with the primary and secondary dysfunctional thoughts that come with the trauma. Primary thoughts involve the client belief in being able to prevent the trauma from occurring. Secondary dysfunctional thoughts involve symptom stress that occurs during periods of upset. Symptom stress is created by the client, for the most part (Ellis, 2001, pp. 390-391). These steps will help bring the client into a more balanced state of mind. A client is considered "cured" when the basic "absolutistic" and "self-downing" behaviors are under control or have disappeared."
Abstract This paper contends that cognitive therapy has traditionally been used by therapists as a means of identifying thoughts of the patient that are destructive to their lives. It explains that individuals, regardless of age, may experience events throughout life that they consider traumatic. The author explains that these details of the events are considered repeatedly in the individual's mind.
From the Paper "Cognitive therapy has traditionally been used by therapists as a means of identifying thoughts of the patient that are destructive to their lives. Individuals, regardless of age, may experience events throughout life that they consider traumatic. The details of the events are considered repeatedly in the individual's mind. Recalling the event exactly as it happened each time it is contemplated generally does not occur, and the memory becomes distorted in many respects. What is significant, however, is the importance to the sequence of events that the individual places on those events. This is evident because that sequence can begin to spark reactions to other events throughout the individual's existence that allow him or her to recall the primary occurrence, and react to it in the same manner. The cognitive process, therefore, is hampered by these thoughts, leading ..."
Abstract This paper claims that, in comparison to psychoanalysis, behaviortherapy focuses more on specific problems, such as anxiety symptoms, so treatment is often more compressed. The paper examines the goal of behaviortherapy, to eliminate bad behaviors, or to develop adaptive coping behaviors. The paper explains that unlike psychoanalysis, behaviortherapy has little regard for the unconscious processes underlying personality disorders. The paper describes the techniques used in behaviortherapy, such as aversive conditioning, in which negative habits are paired with unpleasant stimuli and systematic desensitization, where a stimulus that causes anxiety and negative feelings is paired with a pleasant one.
Outline
Introduction
The Two Types of Therapy Freud
Skinner
Conclusion
From the Paper "Amazing advances have been made in the treatment of mental illness throughout the years (Merck, 2004). An understanding of what causes some mental health disorders has resulted in a greater sophistication in customizing treatment to the underlying basis of specific disorders. Thus, many mental health disorders can now be treated almost as successfully as physical disorders. Most treatment methods for mental health disorders are either categorized as somatic or psychotherapeutic (Merck, 2004). Somatic treatments include drug therapy and electroconvulsive therapy. Psychotherapeutic treatments include individual, group, or family and marital psychotherapy; behavior therapy techniques; and hypnotherapy. There are many others, as well."
Abstract This paper analyzes the article, "Cognitive-BehaviorTherapy: Reflections on the Evolution of a Therapeutic Orientation" by M.R. Goldfried, which presents an account of the evolution of cognitive-behaviortherapy over the past 35 years, since it began with the introduction of cognition into behaviortherapy in the mid-1960s. It examines how, as cognitive-behavior therapists became more experienced clinically and recognized that clients did not always engage in clearly reportable internal dialogues, the schema construct was used to understand more about clients? implicit meaning structures. The distinction between cognitive-behaviortherapy and cognitive therapy is discussed, and the importance of activating emotional experiencing in the clinical change-process is underscored.
From the Paper "Goldfried discusses many justifications for the addition of cognition in behavior therapy and even discusses situations of therapy sessions that institute them. Psychologists came to realize that patients might not have the capacity to store, encode, and retrieve information needed for participation in therapy with a clear "internal dialogue". Thus, establishing an information-processing model, called a "schema", helped therapists understand the problematic functioning of patients having difficulties such as inaccurate classification of events, selective attention, and so on. Goldfried goes on to define a schema as "a cognitive representation of individuals" past experiences with other people, situations, and themselves, which helps them construe events within that particular aspect of their life?."
Abstract This paper provides a comparison of Gestalt and behavioraltherapies and presents an overview and assessment of each therapy and the ways each are used in the field of counseling. The researcher proposes that the Gestalt approach to therapy is more patient-focused and may lead to quicker positive outcomes than behaviortherapies, though the two therapies are much the same in terms of their purpose and ideals.
Outline:
Introduction
Gestalt Therapy BehavioralTherapy Assessment in Practice
Major Differences in Approach
Conclusion
From the Paper "Gestalt "theory" and "therapy" are terms often used interchangeably. They focus on the individual in the present moment; combining their identity with the relationship, they have with the therapist to emphasize responsibility for one's behaviors and actions (James & Jongeward, 1996, p.30). Among the first theorists to believe in the gestalt approach were a Jewish psychologist and analyst known as "Fritz Perls" who incorporated many psychological influences when forming the idea that therapy should be holistic in its approach, and emphasize the client's responsibility for all actions and consequences personally (James & Jongeward, 1996). Using this line of thinking, a gestalt therapist would encourage someone who committed a crime for example, to take responsibility for their actions by recognizing the motives behind their actions and the consequences their actions had on others. This approach today is more common among therapists interested in integrated therapy, something gestalt therapy shares with many behavioral therapies, which attempt to adopt a mind/body approach (Fine & Schwebel, 1994)."
Abstract The paper explains that rational emotive behavioraltherapy is based on the idea that our thoughts or inner dialog is what affects our behavior. It focuses on our perceptions of our environment and experiences instead of our environment and experiences themselves. The paper discusses how the rational emotive behavioraltherapy process can consist of two basic steps. Irrational thoughts are identified and then the client is instructed to begin replacing these thoughts with more rational, healthier thoughts. The paper concludes that rational emotive behavioraltherapy is a step towards individuals taking responsibility for their own dysfunctions, providing them with a solid ground from which to work towards positive change.
From the Paper "This therapy was innovative at its conception because of its focus on internal as opposed to external locus. One of the most effective elements of this therapy is that it provided a much stronger feeling of control for the patient undergoing Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy because it allows them to believe that they have power over their dysfunction behavior by taking responsibility for the problems. Though the process is often extremely difficult, the concept is simple: If you have a problem, change your thinking about the problem and it will go away."
Abstract This paper discusses the background and current status of cognitive behaviortherapy. It lists the challenges facing cognitive behaviortherapy and discusses the need for this form of therapy to address these issues. The paper then describes three cognitive restructuring therapies and discusses how they are implemented in practice. It also discusses the theory and practice of the problem-solving therapies and the cognitive learning theory.
Table of Contents:
Current Status
Theory
Methodology
Applications
Summary
From the Paper "If Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can effectively deal with these concerns, it will unquestionably develop into a key force within clinical psychology. Nevertheless, in spite of its recognition amongst several therapists, not all behaviourally oriented researchers are in favour of this form of therapy. For instance, Eysenck (1979), a staunch S-R theorist, cautioned that "Although cognitive theories seem fashionable at the moment among some behaviour therapists who should know better. . . being fashionable is not the same as being correct, or useful, or in line with the evidence." He indicated that "Cognitive theory, per contra, does not even exist as a 'theory' that could meaningfully be criticized or tested; it is an aspiration, born of mentalistic preconceptions, in search of hypotheses."
"Wolpe (1978, p. 442) stated that that, "Behaviour therapists have deliberately influenced their patients' thinking ever since formal behaviour therapy of the neuroses came into existence"; for this reason he believed that cognitive approaches to therapy had always been incorporated with the behavioural techniques. "Thought," wrote Wolpe, "obeys the same 'mechanistic' laws as motor or autonomic behaviour" (p. 438). The principles of conditioning are adequate to account for cognition, and overt behaviour is an adequate indicator of this conditioning."
Abstract This paper begins by explaining that behaviortherapy is dependent on the belief that a person's psychology is learned and can, therefore, also be unlearned. The paper then looks at the major psychologists who used behaviortherapy, including B.F. Skinner and Arnold Lazarus. The paper the looks at the key components of behaviortherapy, the philosophy behind it, and the relationship between the counselor and patient.
From the Paper "The second key aspect of behavior therapy is based on the individual learning new behaviors. This learning behavior can take several forms. Systematic desensitization is where classical conditioning is used to change a person's response to a stimulus. Operant conditioning uses reward and punishment to change behavior. The common feature regardless of how the new behaviors are learned is that they replace the learning that caused the unsuitable behavior, and in doing so, alter the behavior."
Tags: patient, care, psychologist, problem, crime, skinner, lazarus, arnold
An analysis of adolescent suicide and a review at how treatment approaches such as integration cognitive behavioraltherapy (CBT) and self-psychology can help detect and prevent suicides.
Abstract This research paper is an extensive, in-depth study covering almost every facet of adolescent suicide including its history, demographics, possible reasons and situations, and risk factors. The paper also explores and analyzes the self psychology and cognitive behavioraltherapy approaches to deterring and preventing suicides.
Outline:
Introduction
History of Adolescent Suicide
Epidemiology of Adolescent Suicide
Risk Factors for Adolescent Suicide
Purpose of CRP
Self Psychology
Self Psychology and Suicide
Self Psychology and Family
Explanation of Cognitive BehaviorTherapy (CBT)
CBT Treatment Efficacy
CBT and Depression
CBT and Suicide
CBT and Family
Self Psychology Therapy Self Psychology and Adolescents
From the Paper "As can be seen from the opinions and theories of these two different individuals, personality, how people use it, and what creates it is a debated topic that not all agree on. Some believe that personality changes over time, while others believe that personality is a genetically inherited trait that will remain basically the same throughout life, and some see the issue as not being as relevant as how the behaviors that are manifest by the personality of the individual make that individual feel. This does not mean that no changes in the way someone reacts to their environment will be seen as they grow older or that all behaviors are healthy, but that the basic way that someone looks at the world will not change that much over time . Those that believe that personality does not change do not feel that one can change who they genetically are, and therefore the traits that they were born with will always remain."
