Behavioral Therapy

Most contemporary psychological treatment approaches are predecessors of the ancient and medieval philosophies and theories. Cognitive behavioural therapy as one of the modern treatment method in not an independently formed treatment, different theories have contributed to its present shape and application.

The purpose of this paper is analysing the contributing treatment approaches that resulted in the emergence of the Behavioural Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). The paper presents and analyses the contributions that previous psychological treatment methods made in culminating the CBT. To this end, the paper presents the main treatment methods that are assumed to be most important and analyse their main arguments in detail. It also tries to show the logical transition of the previous treatment methods to CBT. For the purpose of this paper it is better to start from the medieval time where the modern psychological treatment started.

Many writers would claim that the contemporary psychology and psychological treatment has its beginning from Sigmund Freud’s and post Freudian psychoanalysis movement. However, it is equally correct to appreciate the legacy of Franz Anton Mesmer(1734-1815) who should be credited for introducing the Hypnosis, the evolution and development of which lies the unlocking of the mysteries of a unifying theory of all therapy and healing (Franz Anton Mesmer believed that illness is caused by an imbalance of magnetic fluids in the body that can be corrected through "animal magnetism." He asserted that the hypnotist's own personal magnetism can be transferred to a patient Tommy Hanchen, (2009).

Mesmer contributed to psychology in various ways firstly, by revealing that illne...

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...cticing RET”. Ellis further says in this book that he is considered to be the father of RET and the grandfather of CBT. However, evidences show that any single therapeutic technique can’t be responsible for the generation of CBT

In conclusion therefore, CBT as the modern therapeutic method, was as a result of several developments that activities within clinical psychology and laboratory experiments being faced with that led to advent of techniques such as cognitive therapy. have evolved from the start of the modern psychological treatment method by Mesmer who developed the hypnosis and the concept of suggestibility that follows. We can now see that the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy encompasses different techniques that it received from previous generations of treatment. Similar development also brought Behaviour Therapy and Cognitive Therapy together.