Existentialism and Cognitive Therapy: A Comparative Analysis

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existential therapists. I think existentialism is effective in its subjectivity approach because this, unlike other therapy approaches, sees the client’s view as significant, relevant, and even having the ability to contribute to helping the client. Many clients would possibly see high value in this perspective. Cognitive Therapy Beck, A. T. (1997). The past and future of cognitive therapy. The Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research, 6(4), 276–284. a. Background of theory-Aaron Beck initially began his career doing psychoanalysis, but that career drifted to a different area while seeing a patient, Lucy, who expressed thoughts she was experiencing during the session. Through the exploration of thoughts, Beck arrived at the concept internal …show more content…

Underlying assumptions-Things are seen the way they are due to the direction our cognitive processes take us. With a mental disorder, the cognitive process is skewed. For example, someone with mania has an exaggerated positive direction. In return, these cognitions are driven by certain beliefs. c. Views of human development and maladaptive behavior-The model of depression aligns with the cognitive triad: negative view of the self, experience, and the …show more content…

Issues of individual and cultural differences-Information not included in this source. i. Scholarly pros and cons-Cognitive therapy is not designed for personal growth, but for problems in which cognitive distortions are present. Due to the latter, it is seen as effective in treating unipolar depression. j. Opinion of applicability and efficacy-The list of other disorders within the text exemplify the efficacy of cognitive therapy, especially in improving clients that have depression. The reasoning behind makes sense as well, due to the connection in distorted beliefs. Dowd, E. T., Clen, S. L., & Arnold, K. D. (2010). The specialty practice of cognitive and behavioral psychology. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 41(1), 89-95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0018321 a. Background of theory-Cognitive traditions have become enriched by borrowing parts of theory from behavioral traditions, and vice versa. Behavioral tradition stems from experimental science, rather than clinical through classical-respondent conditioning and operant-instrumental conditioning. Albert Bandura was one of the first to combine cognition with the behavior tradition. However, Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck majorly contributed to the cognitive tradition. The basis of cognitive therapy is with Aaron Beck’s work with examining cognitive schemas and automatic

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