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Limitation and strength of cognitive therapy
Pros and cons of cognitive therapy
Pros and cons of cognitive therapy
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The number of prescriptions written in the United States for treatment of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety and PTSD has grown significantly in the last decade. According to the American Psychological Association, the number of US Citizens that have mental illness and use Psychopharmacology, or the treatment of mental disorders through prescribed substances, increased from 16% to 35% in just nine years (C. Munsey, 52). This percentage does not include those institutionalized in hospitals and prisons. Within the same nine years, only 19% of Americans use cognitive therapy, or counseling (C. Munsey, 52). However, cognitive therapy has proven to provide greater benefits, and fewer risks when compared to various Psychopharmacology methods. …show more content…
Cognitive therapy has two steps. The first step allows a patient to form clear ideas based on his or her own thoughts, attitudes, and expectations. These clear ideas reveal and change false and stressful beliefs patients have, because situations do not cause problems alone, but the importance of them to patients cause issues as well (“Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” 2-3). The second step in cognitive therapy allows people to learn new ways to replace the dangerous thought patterns of over-generalizations, also known as drawing exaggerated negative conclusions from situations. Changing the old behavioral habits, and practicing new ones allow patients to have more realistic and less harmful thoughts, letting them think clearly and control their own thought patterns. (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 2-3). For instance, those with depressive disorders tend to withdraw from others and their hobbies, thus causing them to feel isolated and unhappy even more. Cognitive therapy assists patients in finding new solutions for activity once more (“Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” 4). These steps also assist with other disorders like anxiety, PTSD, and OCD by finding ways to calm down (“Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” 4). However, …show more content…
Smith in the American Psychology Association, Smith explains the popularity drugs have over therapy. Smith describes how health insurance often plays a big role in whether or not patients receive medications or therapy. Many statistics show that lower clinician reimbursement rates and higher costs to patients effect therapeutic techniques (Smith 36). Smith further explains that drug treatment reimbursements come easier from health insurances, which has contributed to the increase in Psychopharmacology drug sales. (Smith 36). Smith quotes Daniel Carlat, MD, the associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts University, "There is a huge financial incentive for psychiatrists to prescribe instead of doing psychotherapy.” (37-38). Essentially, this means that doctors can make up to four times as much money for proving prescriptions rather than giving therapy (Smith 38). This has also contributed to the increased lack of therapists, as Daniel Carlat, MD, claims once more, “The vicious cycle here is that as psychiatrists limit their practices primarily to prescribing, they lose their therapy skills by attrition and do even less therapy" (Smith 38). With the increase of prescription providers, the pharmaceutical industry has successfully advanced their marketing of Psychopharmacology drugs to physicians and the public (Smith 38). Smith shows that in the years between 1996 and 2005, pharmaceutical companies tripled
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy appears to be a new treatment, although its roots can be traced to Albert Ellis’s Reason and Emotion in Psychotherapy, published in 1962. Cognitive therapy assumes that thoughts precede actions and false self-beliefs cause negative emotions. It is now known that most depression treatments have cognitive components to them, whether they are recognized or not. In the 1970’s many psychologists began using cognitive components to describe depression. From there, they developed cognitive forms to treat depression with impressive results (Franklin, 2003).
In today’s society, a lot of emphasis is placed on administering drugs and medicating people with psychological issues; however, most of these ailments and issues have the ability be treated through the use of talk therapy rather than medication. Americans are particularly guilty of over medicating when it comes to our more common mental health diagnosis such as, ADHD, depression, and anxiety. We as a society expect things to be done at the snap of a finger; in our advancement of science, we have been able to discover ways of offering the results we want quickly, inexpensively, and with little effort. Unfortunately, although the use of medications, also known as psychoactive drugs, occasionally remove the symptoms, but they do little to remove the causes of these mental health issues. In addition, to the lack of solution that the use of psychoactive drugs offer, they can also have unwanted and dangerous side effects. These can include simple physical irritants such as dry mouth and head aches, and can range up to dependency and substance abuse, and in some cases even death. Moreover, there are cases of inappropriate prescribing, where doctors are authorizing the use of medications that don’t work or are not pertinent to the issue the patient is experiencing. Furthermore, some of these doctors are issuing these medications without subjecting the patient to a proper mental health evaluation by a psychological professional.
As science has evolved, so have treatments for mental illnesses have over time. The medical model is described as the view that psychological disorders are medical diseases with a biological origin (King, 2010, pg. 413). Abnormal behavior that categorizes some disorders can be impacted by biological factors such as genes, psychological factors such as childhood experiences, and even sociocultural factors such as gender and race (King, 2010). Treatments such as psychosurgery (lobotomy) , drug therapy (pharmaceuticals), electroconclusive therapy, and psychoanalysis are used to treat a wide range of psychological disorders. Back then, the public’s negative views on mental illnesses also went as far to associate with the people who treated it; psychiatrists. “Nunnally (1961) found that the public evaluated professionals who treated mental disorders significantly more negatively than those who treat physical disorders,” (Phelan, Link, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 2000, pg. 189). People back then didn’t see the point in “paying to be told that they were crazy”. However, in today’s society, it is now acceptable to seek help from psychiatric professionals; we are seeing more and more people seek mental health treatment. “In terms of facility-based records of utilization (Manderscheid and Henderson 1998), the data suggest that the rate of utilization of professional mental health services has at least doubled and maybe tripled, between the 1950’s and today,” (Phelan, Link, Stueve, & Pescosolido, 2000, pg. 189). In the 1950’s, neuroleptic drugs like Thorazine were introduced to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. These drugs block a neurotransmitter called dopamine from getting to the brain, which in turn reduce schizophrenic symptoms, however there are some side effects such as substantial twitching of the neck, arms, and legs, and even dysphoria or lack of pleasure. (King, 2010, pg.
Beck, J. S. (2005). Cognitive therapy for challenging problems: What to do when the basics don't work. New York: Guilford Press
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy provides a collaborative relationship between the client and the therapist with the ultimate goal of identifying irrational beliefs and disputing those beliefs in an effort to change or adapt behavior (Corey, 2013). The developers of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy saw humans as capable of both rational and irrational thoughts and able to change the processes that contribute to irrational thinking (Corey, 2013). CBT is a more direct approach than some other therapy theories practiced today in that it challenges the client to identify aspects about their self through cognitions. This therapy, as discussed in Corey (2013) also provides an educational component such that therapist teach clients tools to effectively change the way they think to a healthier way. There are a multitude of techniques associated with CBT such as shame attacking exercises, changing ones language...
In it's simplest form, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, (or CBT as it will be referred to from here on out), refers to the approach of changing dysfunctional behaviors and thoughts to realistic and healthy ones. CBT encompasses several types of therapy focusing on the impact of an individual's thinking as it relates to expressed behaviors. Such models include rational emotive therapy (RET), rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT), behavior therapy (BT), Rational Behavior Therapy (RBT), Schema Focused Therapy, Cognitive therapy (CT). Most recently a few other variations have been linked to CBT such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectic behavioral therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) (Harrington and Pickles, 2009). The main aspect that all of these branches of therapy share, is that our thoughts relate to our external behaviors. External events and individuals do not cause the negative thoughts or feelings, but, instead the perception of events and situations is the root cause (National Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists, 2010).
Cognitive behavioral therapy commonly known as CBT is a systematic process by which we learn to change our negative thoughts into more positive ones. CBT is a combination of two types of therapy, Cognitive Therapy and Behavioral Therapy. Cognition is our thoughts, so cognitive behavioral therapy combines working with our thought process and changing our behavior at the same time. Cognitive behavioral therapists believe that our behavior and our feelings are influenced by the way we think; also our mood is affected by our behavior and thought process. So CBT tries to tackle our thoughts, feelings and behavior. Scientific research has shown that cognitive behavioral therapy is affective for a wide range of mental health problems. The purpose is to bring positive change by alleviating emotional distress such as depression. CBT starts by breaking down your problems into smaller components, often trying to identify particular problematic thoughts or behavior. Once these problems are broken down it is then suggested a straightforward plan in which the patient and therapist can intervene to promote recovery.
Cognitive is defined as a mental process; it refers to everything going on in your mind including your thought processes and the way you are thinking and feeling. Behaviour refers to everything that you may do; this includes any action that you may present or act out, this can also be an indirect action that is caused by other underlying behaviours. Therapy is a systematic approach to try and resolve a problem, illness, actions, irregular thought patterns or anything that may be a disturbance that distracts you from your everyday functioning. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a dynamic mode of holistic intervention that seeks to change thought processes that are linked with emotions through a goal-orientated process (Freeman and Ronen, 2007). Individuals have a three-step thought process; inferences, evaluations and core beliefs. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy looks into the dysfunctional thinking a client may have, which influences their thoughts, mood and behaviour. This theory is kept very loose and non-structured; depending on the client different theories will have to be applied depending on their needs and emotions.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is based on the concept that behavior change may be achieved through altering cognitive processes. The assumption underlying the cognitively based therapeutic techniques is that maladaptive cognitive processes lead to maladaptive behaviors and changing these processes can lead to behavior modification. According to Mahoney (1995), an individual's cognitions are viewed as covert behaviors, subject to the same laws of learning as overt behaviors. Since its inception, cognitive-behavior modification has attempted to integrate the clinical concerns of psychodynamic psychotherapists with the technology of behavior therapists (Mahoney, 1995). Cognitive-behaviorists have demonstrated an interrelationship among cognitive processes, environmental events, and behavior, which is conveyed in the context of one's social behavior. Psychotherapists in North America endorse cognitive-behavioral interventions as the second most widely used treatment approach (i.e., with an eclectic approach being endorsed as first) (Bongar & Buetler, 1995).
Cognitive-behavioural therapy, or as it is commonly referred throughout literature CBT is an integration of Ellis’ (1996) Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and Becks’ Cognitive Therapy (1976). CBT regards a variety of interventions that share the same basic assumption that mental disorders and psychological distress are sustained by cognitive factors. The central idea of this psychotherapy approach is that maladaptive cognitions contribute to the maintenance of emotional distress and consequently behavioural problems (Beck, 1970; Eliis, 1962). We, as humans, gather information in our brain in certain patterns or schemas that contain general knowledge about that world and the person themselves and these schemas are used to interpret, select and reduce
Cognitive behavioral therapy is used to treat diverse types of disorders such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, eating disorders, etc. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps patients deal with a specific problem in the present as well as avoid the same problem in the future. A patient anc potentially learn how to identify destructive behavior within themselves, so that they can move forward positively in the future. Long term, a patient will learn how to change the thought patterns that lead to the destructive behavior with the help of cognitive behavioral
Complementary therapy takes a holistic approach to healing the body. This is an inexpensive type of treatment can be used in conjunction with conventional medicine, which is the using of drugs to treat illnesses and other health conditions, in order to reintroduce balance in the functionality of an individual. On the other hand, when used in place of conventional medicine it is referred to as alternative medicine. It is believed that an individual need to be completely balanced holistically to be considered healthy; this means that the mind, body and spirit needs to be treated along with any illness that occurs. Complementary therapy takes many forms that falls under five (5) categories: Mind-body therapies, biologically based therapies,
The general practices of a Clinical Psychologist is to asses patients, diagnose disorders and recommend possible treatments. They integrate scientific theories, understand, and focus on intellectual, emotional, biological, social and behavioral adjustments. They allow people to vent and cope with their feelings while determining what exact type of treatment would best suit them and their emotional well-being. To become a Clinical Psychologist it can become a very difficult and distressing job and it may or can become overwhelming. However with the right patience and comfortable adjustments one can assess and help another cope with their mental instability.
Initially developed by Aaron Beck in the 1960s, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) also referred to as Cognitive Therapy (CT) focuses on understanding a client’s behaviors and feelings through focusing on their underlying cognitions and thoughts (Weinrach, 1988, p.159). Aaron Beck believed that our thoughts impact our feelings and in order to change negative feelings, we must identify and modify our dysfunctional thoughts (Weinrach,1988). A client’s symptoms or dysfunctional behaviors do not take place due to a situation or their feelings. Instead, Beck explains that between the situations or events and the emotional responses and behaviors, a conscious stream of thoughts take place (Craske, 2010). CBT explains human nature with an anti-deterministic
Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several