Overview of Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis.

History of Theory

Cognitive behavior therapy is a relatively young theory in comparison with other theories or approaches available for our use today. Cognitive behavior therapy is thought to be founded by Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis. Both men had made great contributions to the theory and helped make the theory what it is today. We can look back and see that cognitive therapy has historic roots that can be traced back to classical learning of John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner-operant conditioning (Leichsenringme et al., 2006).

Cognitive behavior therapy is a structured model that places responsibility on the client to be active in therapy, homework is often used and assigned which allows the client to fully be active in the process, also creates a strong therapeutic relationship between the client and therapist and additionally helps with strategies toward change (Corey, 2013). Cognitive therapy helps the individual open their eyes to see what is going on around them. The cognitive therapy uses different techniques but they are all directed towards adjusting the dysfunctional beliefs and thoughts of the client. Most of the techniques are intertwined. Cognitive behavior therapy is not just a one or two principle type of therapy. It is much more complex (Fisher & O’Donohue, 2012). It has been distinguished that there are more than sixteen different types of schools relating to cognitive behavior therapy (Garland & Kinsella, 2008)

In the 1950’s, Albert Ellis, founded the rational emotive behavior therapy (from here on out will be referred to as REBT) which teaches individuals that their beliefs are largely responsible for their emotional and behavioral reactions to life events (Neenan & Dryden, 2005). The basic principle is tha...

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