The cognitive approach therapy

Question 1

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Answer 1

• CBT combines the cognitive and behaviourist techniques in order to help clients
• cognitve element - the therapist works with the client to help them identify negative thoughts
• behavioural element - therapist encourages the client to engage in reality testing

Question 2

Main Components

Answer 2

• dysfunctional thought diary
  
  • clients are asked to keep a record of the events leading up to any unpleasant emotions experienced
• should record the automatic negative thoughts associated with these events and how much they believe in these thoughts
• challenging dysfunction thoughts
  
  • client and therapist work together to challenge the negative thinking pattern e.g assuming someone was talking about them and thinking more clearly about the situation
• pleasant activity scheduling
  
  • involves asking the client to plan for each day once pleasant activity that will give them a sense of accomplishment or something that involves a break from routine - thought that they will induce more positive emotions

Question 3

How does the cognitive approach apply to CBT

Answer 3

• overall assumption is that our thoughts influence our emotions and the behaviours that follow
• CBT could be used to help depression, and anxiety which stem from fault thinking

assumption : internal mental processes
- perception underlies the principles of CBT as it is the role of the therapist to help the client change their perception of the world .
- can be helped with cognitive restructuring

assumption: schemas
- influence how we respond to the world around us
- e.g depressed people have developed a negative schema of things such as themselves, the world and their future - CBT helps this

Question 4

Effectiveness of CBT

Answer 4

Research support
- number of studies have compared effectiveness of CBT with drug therapy
- Jarret et al found that CBT was as effective as some anti depressant drugs when treating 108 patients with severe depression over 10 weeks
- however some psychologists found no difference in CBT when compared to a different anti depressant drug in a sample of 107 patients

Said that the success of CBT depends on the therapist e.g how well they can structure sessions, how they plan and review the homework and how they go about having a good relationship with the patient - 71 percent of studies show this is important

• depends on the individual
  
  • some clients can be resistant to change and those who have high levels of stress that reflects in their life cannot be resolved by CBT

Question 5

Ethical issues of CBT

Answer 5

• patient blame
  
  • this approach assumes that the client is responsible for their disorder as it empowers them to change the way they think
• this could result in important factors being overlooked which are contributing e,g family problems
• not helpful as it may the other aspects of their life to change to help them feel better

Question 6

Ethical issues of CBT

Answer 6

• debate of what is rational thoughts and what is irrational
• some thoughts may seem irrational to a therapist but may infact not be irrational
• some psychologists say that depressive realists tend to see things for what they are and normal people distort things in a positive way
• found depressed people displayer the sadder but wiser effect
• CBT may damage self esteem