Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be used to treat people with a wide range of mental health problems. CBT is based on the idea that how we think (cognition), how we feel (emotion) and how we act (behavior) all interact together. Specifically, our thoughts determine our feelings and our behavior. Therefore, negative - and unrealistic - thoughts can cause us distress and result in problems. When a person suffers with psychological distress, the way in which they interpret situations becomes skewed, which in turn has a negative impact on the actions they take.
Individuals do this to make the pain go away which ultimately they really just defense mechanisms (Gottdiener, Murawski, & Kucharski, 2008). “According to psychoanalytic conflict theory, defense mechanisms are activated when the individual experiences any form of displeasure, especially anxiety or depressive affect” (Brenner, 1982). Failures of ego control are related to individuals with substance use disorders. “Ego control refers to the efforts of the individual to control thoughts, emotions, impulses and ability to perform tasks and attention processes” (Baumeister & Vohs, 2004, p. 2). The article also addresses the result of consistent failures in ego control.
In other words, a person’s experience or behavior is caused by how the situation is interpreted. During psychotherapy with CBT, the therapist works with the patient in modifying the dysfunctional thinking that causes the symptoms. Also, the therapist works to modify the underlying beliefs that are causing the dysfunctional thinking. The “General Cognitive Model” states that first a situation occurs, then a person has automatic thoughts and automatic images, and finally the person reacts emotionally or behaviorally. Another important aspect of CBT is the “Cognitive Triad,” which says that most dysfunctional thinking falls under one of three categories: Negative view of the self, negative view of the future, or negative view of the world.
There also negative attitudes that the society portrays that contribute to the stigmatization. This makes people to feel different from others, rejected, and excluded from the society. However, as part of the society victims should be embraced and supported all through the recovery time to avoid that feel of shame and embarrassment. Stigma is defined as a mark of social humiliation where people are labelled by their condition and separated from others, which can form a negative stereotype and prejudice for the person with depression disorder (WHO, 2011). Goffman (1968), did some research on stigma which he referred to as ‘spoiled identity’ and he developed some ideas about identities and how they are presented in social roles.
PHILOSOPHICAL PRINCIPLES & KEY CONCEPTS Aaron T. Beck developed his approach known as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy as a result of his work and observations with depressed clients. C.B.T. is based on fundamental assumptions that our thoughts can and do determine how we feel and behave in relation to events in our everyday lives and our environment. Beck contends that psychological problems or dysfunctional behaviour can occur as a result of faulty or distorted thinking and through engaging and employing C.B.T. techniques we can change or modify the way we think, to cause us to feel and act better even if our external situations and events do not change.
Behavioral Therapies- an approach based on the principles of classical conditioning. Individual are repeatedly present with unpleasant stimulus, and they are expected to react negatively to the substance and lose the craving. Cognitive-Behavior Therapies-help people gain control over their substance-related behaviors, by making them keep track of their substance use. Biological Treatments- helps people withdraw from substances, abstain from them or simply maintain their level of use without further increase, (detoxification, drug maintenance therapy, and antagonist drugs). Sociocultural Therapies-Psychological problems emerge in a social setting and are best treated in social context.
He designed and carried out a number of experiments to test psychoanalytical concepts of depression, he expected that research would validate his predictions, however the opposite was true, the research made him look at other ways to conceptualize depression. He worked with depressed patients and found that experienced streams of negative thoughts popped up spontaneously, he called these “automatic thoughts”, these were split into three categories, negative thoughts about themselves, the future and the world. Beck helped patients identify and evaluate these thoughts and when done so the patients could think more realistically and they felt better emotionally and behaved more functionally. He went on to explain different disorders were associated with different types of distorted thinking, this has a negative effect on our behaviour no matter the disorder. Beck believed that these frequent negative automatic thoughts revealed a person’s core beliefs and explains that core beliefs are formed over lifelong experiences and we feel these beliefs to be true.
Discuss one theoretical explanation of behaviour from the cognitive perspective: The cognitive perspective is focusing on the human mind, the internal mental processes such as thinking, problem solving, creativity, memory, language and perception. Cognitive psychologists are interested in how the human mind is processing these mental processes and on determining the role that mental processes play in affecting emotions and behavior. According to this, mental illness such as depression accrues from people’s negative beliefs and irrational interpretations of situations. Depression is a serious mental illness which involves the body, mind, mood, and thoughts. The effects of depression are characterized by an intense feeling of sadness, guilt, feeling of worthlessness, difficulties in sleep, drug and alcohol abuse.
Through his work, he found that his patients experienced segments of negative thoughts that seemed to happen spontaneously. Beck coined these cognitions “automatic thoughts,” and determined that their content could be categorized into three sections: negative ideas about themselves, the world and the future. According to Beck, the term automatic thoughts described emotion-filled, thoughts that might pop up in the mind that at times, patients may not be fully aware of.
The end results, or outcomes, due to classical and operant conditioning, play a huge role in how an individual functions in society as we know it. Which is why, emotional difficulties (phobias and addictions) come about when dealing with each conditioning method. (Kowalski & Westen, 2011) Phobias A phobia is a state of mind where a fear is present in a situation, activity, or object. These phobias cause an organism to feel that something has to be avoided. This may effect an individual’s ability to socialize, work, or carry out tasks in their own life.