Fundamental Theories in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Research Paper Sample)

PSYC 3790: Cognitive Behavior Therapy
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PSYC 3790: Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Introduction
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) revolves around behavior, emotions, and thoughts. This approach is well-structured, time-limited, and designed to treat various mental health disorders. CBT aims to eliminate distress by enabling patients to develop more adaptive behaviors and cognitions. It is widely recommended as a treatment for numerous mental health disorders. CBT is a model for mental illness, and it is formed under the belief that people's behaviors and emotions are influenced by how they perceive events. People interpret situations based on their feelings (Corey, 2022). For instance, depressed people are believed to perceive and interpret events negatively. There are three levels of cognition; negative automatic thoughts, dysfunctional assumptions, and core beliefs (Fenn and Byrne, 2013). Core beliefs refer to the deeply held perspectives or beliefs about a person, the world, and others. Childhood experiences usually influence these beliefs. Negative automatic thoughts are involuntary thoughts activated by various situations. A depressed person centers negative automatic thoughts through feeling useless, having low self-esteem, and viewing negativity about everything. Dysfunctional assumptions are conditional and rigid rules that people establish. Sometimes, the rules are maladaptive and hence unrealistic. Technically, CBT is a framework that helps understand an individual's mental problem. It helps in presenting the problem. This paper seeks to establish the fundamental principles, strengths, weaknesses, and skills of Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
Fundamental Principles
Cognitive-behavioral techniques have similar assumptions and characteristics to traditional behavior theory. Some common attributes include; time-limited, present-centered focus, and changing cognition focus to achieve desired behavioral changes. In addition, CBT relies on a collaborative relationship and connection between the therapist and client. According to the theory, cognitive processes usually control psychological distress, and the therapist must have a directive and active stance (Corey, 2022). Also, the approaches are based on an educational treatment that focuses on structured and specific target problems. Cognitive-behavioral therapies place responsibility and homework on the client to engage in active roles during therapy sessions and outside the sessions to develop a solid therapeutic alliance. They use various behavioral and cognitive strategies to induce change (Corey, 2022). Technically, therapists help patients evaluate how they recognize themselves and their surroundings while suggesting new ways of behaving and experimenting.
CBT is based on the assumption that physical reactions, emotions, behaviors, and beliefs are connected. Thus, a change in one aspect leads to changes in the other elements. Various behavior techniques are applied in CBT, including behavioral rehearsal, modeling, and operant conditioning. Therapists help patients evaluate their beliefs through behavioral experiments and on paper. According to Corey (2022), CBT aims to teach patients to become their therapists by enabling them to understand various ways of behaving and thinking and equipping them with equipment to change their behavioral and maladaptive cognitive patterns.
Key Concepts
The CBT primary concepts can be grouped into those supporting CBT's problem-oriented and structured focus and those that foster a collaborative empiricism environment. Collaborative empiricism involves establishing a collaborative therapeutic relationship whereby the patient and therapist work together to