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. CBT aims to help people become aware of when they make negative interpretations, and of behavioral patterns which reinforce the distorted thinking. Cognitive Therapy helps people to develop alternative ways of thinking and behaving which reduce the psychological distress. Cognitive behavioral Therapy is, in fact, an umbrella term for many different therapies that share some common elements. Two of the earliest forms of Cognitive behavioral Therapy were Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), developed by Albert Ellis in the 1950s, and Cognitive Therapy, developed by Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s.
Behaviourists are convinced that behaviour is determined by conditioning and this can be reinforced by positive or negative rewards. Positive rewards will ensure that the behaviour will be repeated while negative rewards will lead to ceasing of that behaviour. The early behaviourists were even claiming that if given neutral youngsters they would be able to mould them into ways of behaving suited for a particular purpose. It is here where psychoanalysts would argue that human behaviour cannot be measured or just reduced to stimulus response. Both behaviourists and psychoanalysts would deny the existence of a free will.
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.
Cherry (2009), “Behaviorism is a school of thought in psychology based on the assumption that learning occurs through interactions with the environment” (para 1). B.F. Skinner and Operant Conditioning Burrhus Frederic Skinner, also known as, B.F. Skinner, was a behaviorist and studied operant conditioning. According to Cherry (2009), “Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior” (para 1). Skinner elaborated on Edward Thorndike’s observations that behavior was controlled by consequences of the actions.
Behaviourism and Humanism Learning Perspectives The two perspectives of adolescent learning this essay will discuss are behaviourism and humanism. Both of these perspectives search for the reasons humans do things however the contrasts between the two are rather extreme. The behaviourist school of thought considers observed physical behaviour and believes behaviour can be predicted and controlled (O’Donnell et al, 2012, p. 230). Skinner and Watson are the most well known developers of this theory, and in the early stages of behaviourism animal behaviour was studied. Humanism came about as a response to behaviourism; with humanists looking at the whole person and their experience, believing that learning is a part of natural human growth.
The cognitive behavioural theory is a psychological perspective which was born out of behaviourism and cognitive psychology. It added cognitive explanations regarding the acquiring of psychological disorders. It, unlike behaviourism, considers the learning process as much more than the stimulus-response associations. It regards the learner as actively aware and actively interpreting the situation in line of what has been acquired in the past and imposing a perceptual funnel on experience [Plante, 1999]. The existential perspective is closely related to the humanistic perspective.
Critical psychology is an approach rather than a theory, an orientation towards psychological knowledge and practice – and to relations of power in general. It is an orientation that cuts across the various sub-disciplines in psychology and is made up of diverse theoretical perspectives and forms of practice. An omnipresent theme is critical psychology is that of psychology and power itself. At its most basic it is an investigation of the relationship between power and psychology. It is an awareness that psychology itself is powerful and that it plays a role in maintaining and extending existing relations of power.
For a schizophrenic this suggests that their behaviour is a consequence of faulty learning. For example, if a child receives little or no social interaction early in life (parental disinterest), the child will attend to inappropriate and irrelevant environmental cues (e.g. the sound of word rather than its' meaning). This results in the child's behavioural responses becoming bizarre and so those that may observe the child's behaviour may avoid it or respond erratically, therefore reinforcing the child's behaviour. This cycle will eventually deteriote into a psychotic state.
Treatment planning includes a balance of both trauma and behavioral focal point, working on ongoing behavioral problems and behavioral crises, modify distorted thinking so that families could have the knowledge to transfer, and children can learn how to talk through their experiences. Results: Cognitive therapy also incorporated with behavioral therapy practice to manage the behavioral regulation problems that commonly happens in traumatized children. Conclusions: Treating trauma related behavioral problems is a crucial part of trauma-focused treatment and is achievable if practice is done accordingly. This practice is important due to the common nature of behavioral dilemma in traumatized children (Cohen, 2007). CBT 3 Cognitive behavioral therapy is generally psychotherapy and behavioral therapy combined.
a.) View of Human Nature Like these two theories, I believe that people are not just a product of their environment, but they are born with the ability to make their own decisions and learn from their mistakes. Behavioral therapy is consistent with my view because it is grounded on a belief that “humans are not a mere product of their sociocultural conditioning…the person is the producer and the product of his or her environment.” (Corey). Behavioral Therapists give control to the client and give them the freedom to make their own choices. Cognitive behavior therapy is based on the belief that people are born with the ability to have rational and irrational thinking, and it helps clients to accept themselves and their mistakes.