Cognitive Therapy (CT) By Aaron Beck

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Laura Stoychev PSYC 5893 Theory of Choice Paper The counseling approach I most identify with is Cognitive Therapy (CT) by Aaron Beck. It concentrates on the part a person’s thought process has in dysfunction and intervention. I agree with Albert Ellis 's Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) and some aspects of the existential approach to counseling, but CT is my choice therapy. One of the primary beliefs in cognitive therapy is that a person 's perspective can influence emotional and behavioral reactions. I believe that if a person is able to reevaluate attitude and beliefs about a situation, the person can improve wellbeing. The person 's wellbeing can improve by altering the reactions he or she has to the situation and learning more …show more content…

However, CT recognizes that a person 's perception is influenced by past experiences, emotions linked to certain areas of those experiences, and core beliefs. The experiences people gain throughout their lives are processed and understood with meaning specific to their lives. This processing of and finding meaning in personal experience is essential to our existence as people. Although CT does focus on the present, the therapist must try to understand how the person sees the world and thinks. This means trying to understand the meaning they have individually assigned to their experiences and how those experiences influence their cognitive processing. That allows the therapist to teach the client tools to reframe his or her dysfunctional thoughts like catastrophizing, magnification or minimization, mindreading, overgeneralizing, and black-white …show more content…

The client is seen for where he or she is in the present and the past is only considered in order to improve the client 's future. I found myself following this model as I worked with clients. I knew their background from the intake information, but I focused on meeting them where they were at the present. I did however use the background information and past experiences they shared to help them find alternative, more productive ways to adapt to their environment. This is also a philosophy that I carry into everyday life. Each person has a unique perspective on the world around them that defines how they interact in that world. I believe there would be far less conflict and misunderstandings if people saw each other this

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