Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond

Introduction

On the theory of the counseling that has reflected on in respect to my personality and the behavior is the Behavior cognitive theory. According to me, this theory has stood among the rest because it inspires on the clients and has helped many change their lives through positive thinking. The way I know myself is am positive in every situation, and I try as much as possible to make changes to any areas of concern. (Wills, 2008)This can be through inspiring others to see possibility even on the difficult tasks that they face. There is no need of holding grudges to others who wrongs you and there is a need to move forward in a given situation rather dwell on the past. Therefore, in the reflection of these aspects, I believe the CBT theory used in counseling would help build relationships and mend the torn bridges with the clients to have a prosperous life. On my research have seen the theory has some similarities in my behavior and personality and this therapy would thus be useful with my life as a counselor. Nonetheless, there the theory has some goals and principals that can greatly guide me on the journey of a career in counseling.

Brief history of the behavior theory

Emotive Behavior Therapy also referred as REBT by one scholar called Dr. Albert Ellis in the

This theory was developed from an earlier form of therapy that was regarded as the Rational 50s. In the 60s the theory was further developed by Dr. Aaro

I have learned that the primary goal of this therapy is to encourage individuals to change their behaviors in some issues and become more aware of themselves. This treatment focusses on the ways to modify the client behavior, and it concentrates on the main agenda of the problem facing the client to reflect on their issues that affect them. (Brownback, 2016)The key features of this theory are that it is goal oriented and focus on the problem so that at the end there are positive changes that will be seen. On this characteristic, it can be reflected on myself in that I like setting my goals, and I do everything possible to make sure I achieve them. The focus that has made me realize a lot is to develop an understanding of the goal that you entail to reach and work on those tasks. For me to understand the purposes of this theory I decided to do research on some case studies. One such case study that I found to me of interest was on Dr. Judith Johnson, where she carries a session with a girl who has symptoms of depression. The young woman explains at a depth of how she is stressed and she been putting herself with a lot of pressure to pass in her university studies which are not yielding any good results on her grades. While the young girl explains this the counselor Dr. Judith explores on what has been causing these behaviors. The conversation they had explored that the divorce that the parent of the girl and the stress she had on the exam were the primary reason. Judith then focused on what was causing the client stress and every time there was a reaction of distress on the young girl. The central aspect of the therapy is to focus on the issue and try to come with a resolution that will bear positive changes on the client. I loved in this case in the sense the counselor focused on the problem that affected the client and how she tried to make the client aware of her behavior.

The principal of this theory essentially focuses on how effective the therapy can be carried out in a given session with the client and on how to create the goals of creating and instilling good behavior and thought to the client. According to Judy Beck, highlights that the CBT requires there should be a good client-counselor relationship, and it should entail goal oriented and a problem focused in each of the session that they are into. After some research, I found that every principal is focused on the client and the behavior.

The main components of a good client and therapist relationship there should be the presence of a counselor who can clearly show engagement of a body language. (Hawton, Salkovskis, Kirk & Clark, 1989) Some of the signs can be eye contact and sit in an upright position will facing the client. In CBT, the client-counselor relationship is significant to work effectively and reach the intended goals. This therapy needs to have a relationship that is established to have a positive health outcome. (Brownback, 2016) The counselor needs to have compassion, empathy and be confident to the client to help meet the goals intended. This theory has clearly reflected on how I am in that am empathic especially when my friends or family tells me of issues affecting them.

The CBT approach has been found to focus on the goals and the problem of the client. These aspects have been reflected in my personality most of the time. I believe every problem can be solved, and I always try to focus on fixing the problem that affects me through working around the problem. Some skills I realized I had them and were my firm hold on my personality when I studied this theory. The primary concern is to focus basing on the problem affecting the client and ways to resolving them to enable them to change their behavior positively.

The blending of this theory has allowed me to apply a therapeutic process in that it is comprehensive enough to be able to account for the complexities of the human behavior. (Hawton, Salkovskis, Kirk & Clark, 1989)This affects especially the various type of client and their particular problem consideration. It is imperative for the counselor to have a strong understanding of this theory of counseling and the therapeutic approach to have a strong base of their practice for the provision of the services and techniques to meet the needs of the clients. Nonetheless, it is significant for a counselor to integrate their personality, strengths and the areas of interest to help the client in the best possible way based on personal set skills. As a therapist, it is important to learn new techniques and strategies to apply to a particular framework of counseling.

My unique theory of CBT is essentially a key to the concepts that are found on the psychodynamics and the humanistic approaches. (Beck, 1979) According to a scholar, Beck suggests that it is vital to understand the past and the people we are today and what the directions we entail to take are and ways to accomplish the goals that are set. It is important to understand that individuals contribute to their psychological problems and the symptoms that are unique to the way the events and situations are interpreted. I have come to learn that various factors have a reciprocal cause and the effect of our relationship; some are the cognitions, emotions, and the behaviors. (Brownback, 2016) The theory of CBT tends to major emphasize on the importance of the goals, their purposes, values and their meaning. These aspects would be significant to the counselor to understand the needs of the client and be able to help them effectively. According to Ellis believes that emotions of individuals come mainly from their beliefs, evaluations and the reactions to the various situations of life. (Johnson, 2014) As individuals, we sometimes lean on the irrational beliefs from significant others more so from our childhood and us sometimes actively reinforce the self-defeating beliefs and keeping ourselves emotionally disturbed. The use of this theory has helped clients on changing on their rational thoughts and assist them to understand the aspect of the vicious circle of blaming themselves processes, in turn, change their self-defeating behaviors. Sometimes individuals often create a negative effect on the self-fulfilling prophecy and the fail due to the fact they had said they would do so(Johnson, 2014). I have come to know how the positive thoughts are and on how we tend to see ourselves.

A counselor needs to teach the client the need for the self-acceptance. (Beck, 2011) Sometimes there is the use of the rational emotive imagery when the client imagine themselves when thinking, feeling and also behaving in the way they intend to think, feel and act in the real life. I have come to understand how the mind is, and I believe this kind of the therapy would be beneficial to all the clients who have been struggling with low self-esteem while they are on the aspect of forming their identity (Fowler, Garety & Kuipers, 1995).

A counselor can use the various behavioral technique and role-playing to help them to explore on the problem that is facing them. The behavioral technique is like systematic desensitization and the training of the relaxation. This therapy of cognitive by Aaron Beck is an insight-focused therapy that majorly emphasizes on the recognition and changing the negative beliefs and the thoughts of the clients. Individuals tend to be disturbed especially when they label and evaluate on themselves based on a set of rules that may be unrealistic. (Johnson, 2014) I agree with this statement in that it is the therapist role to help the clients in discovering these misconceptions on themselves. These therapists should be directive, and the focus should be focused on thinking and acting rather than only on the expression of the feelings. I think that expressing the feelings can be efficient and can be highly therapeutic. Nonetheless, I do not agree with Ellis when he stipulated human beings do not need the love and acceptance from others to feel worthy. To me every individual need to have at least a close relationship with another person to be emotionally healthy. There is a need to feel appreciated by other people and supported to accomplish a given task (Beck, 2011).

I believe any therapy should be focused on encouraging success and looking forward to a hopeful future. The changes the clients makes in their life determines their success. Each person can grow and live a fruitful life if only you confront the things that are affecting you emotionally.

Conclusion

Counseling is a process of helping other individuals who are going through stressful situations. Therefore, many people who seek counseling therapy help is when they have problems that can range from emotional or depression. The use of cognitive behavior theory has been widely used by many health professionals today to help their clients. CBT believes that individuals contribute to their psychological problems and symptoms that effect on their events and the situations. The aspect of our emotion and the behavior have a reciprocal cause, and they produce the effect of the relationship. The theory has clearly demonstrated similar perspective in respect to my personality and behavior. Am a goal oriented individual and a problem solver in every issue that I face, the same applies to this therapy the counselor should aim at doing all they can to help the client facing the various emotional or have low self-esteem.

I know will make a good counselor in that the goals I have acquired and skills are in line with the use of this theory. Listening to people on their problem and trying to provide solution has always inspired me every moment. I like setting the short-term goals and try to do all I can to achieve them. A good counselor should be supportive, patient and a good listener to the client that need help and should always try to find the best possible solution.

References

Beck, J. S. (1979). Cognitive therapy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond. Guilford Press.

Fowler, D., Garety, P., & Kuipers, E. (1995). Cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis: Theory and practice (Vol. 25). Wiley.