Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Case Study

The Therapy Accustomed to You

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), initialized by Dr. Aaron Beck, is a therapy method that uses both cognitive and behavioural paradigm approaches. It is based on the former theory of depression stating that one’s thoughts are accountable for the different emotional reactions one has in different situations. The goal of cognitive behavioural therapy is to help an individual isolate their maladaptive or negative thoughts, to assess how these thoughts are affecting their emotions and to help them reconstruct their thought patterns. The outcome of the individual’s awareness of their maladaptive or negative thoughts and feelings through CBT, is an affirmative adjustment in their thought arrangements. Therefore,

In most cases, a standard therapy session consists of a therapist and the patient talking, but there are therapies that include the patient’s family or their spouse as well. Typically, the patient visits the therapist once a week and the therapy is limited to an average of 14 sessions, based on how the patient responds to treatment. The top two methods used in numerous cases in the “Case studies in Abnormal Psychology” are, activity scheduling and thought records. In case number 5, for example, Elaine was required to overcome her anxiety of going outside of her apartment, especially when she was alone. To help reduce her anxiety, the therapist created a schedule of daily activities, based solely on her abilities. The schedule is designed to break down the activity into smaller parts making it simpler and less overwhelming for the patient to undertake. Elaine was also instructed to listen to a recording of herself speaking about the event that derived the maladaptive or negative feelings, in Elaine’s case, the train crash, every day of the treatment. To assess the efficacy of the treatment method, which is crucial in CBT, the patients record the level of their maladaptive feelings after each exercise. The idea behind these methods of exposure is to aid the individual into understanding that it is not necessitous for them to consistently feel the anxiety which subsidized from the negative life event. CBT

In using behavioural experiments, the therapist helps the patient reason differently about their views and the thoughts associated with them. This is carried out by testing their thoughts in a scientific experiment perception. In each CBT treatment it is important that “The therapist and client collaboratively design the nature of the experiment and set out clear contingencies” (Dozois, 2013). Interpersonal therapy was developed in means of helping relieve the patient’s symptoms by focusing on any problems or conflicts that they encounter on a daily basis. Therefore, the therapist begins by ascertaining these conflicts and provides the patient with ways to resolve them. In knowing the root cause of these conflicts, the patient is more aware of how they are effecting their daily life and functioning, and will consider the techniques learned in the treatments