Changing Behavior with Cognitive Therapy

By

Ramona Hall

Santa Clarita Valley

www.ramonahalleducationalpsychology.com

Cognitive therapy was first developed in the 1960’s by Aaron Beck as an effective, short term intervention for dealing with depression.  Today, cognitive therapy is widely used as a well-researched treatment of choice for major depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and phobias.  It is used in schools, hospital settings, private therapy practices, and in prisons.  

At its core, cognitive therapy is based upon a system of beliefs about the way people perceive and interpret information.  The assumption is that people develop mental disorders because they have distorted notions and inaccurate perceptions about the world.  It is the therapist’s job to help the individual change inaccurate, unhelpful beliefs about events in order to improve the person’s emotional adjustment and behavior.

Unlike so-called humanistic therapies, cognitive behavior therapy is more direct, goal oriented, and, usually, shorter term.  It emphasizes the present and provides education and training to the client so that the individual is able to recognize and understand her erroneous beliefs about self and the world.  Some of the more common erroneous beliefs include black and white thinking, catastrophizing, and overgeneralizing.  Once the client recognizes and understands her mental distortions, she is able to apply techniques learned in therapy and utilize a set of new thinking skills to change for the better.

Cognitive behavior therapy is very useful in working with children who have problems with school refusal, test taking anxiety, or academic perfectionism.  A common scenario is that of the bright student who fails tests and refuses to perform unfamiliar tasks.  After carefully interviewing the student and examining the student’s values and beliefs the therapist begins to help the student identify automatic thoughts that cause emotional distress.  The therapist and student may discover that the individual believes the following:

• ·         A good student must always be correct
• ·         Making mistakes is terrible
• ·         One must always try one’s best at all endeavors
• ·         Mistakes will result in future failure and inability to reach long-term goals

Next, the client and therapist together develop methods for recognizing when the automatic beliefs occur and develop an individualized plan for learning new behaviors. This often involves teaching the client to use new mental “self talk”, to learn and use relaxation strategies, and to practice new behaviors in a variety of settings.   Performing homework assignments is an important part of the process so that new behaviors are mastered in real life situations.

In summary, cognitive behavior therapy is a useful therapeutic system that provides adults and children with an opportunity to live more comfortable lives by helping them develop new ways of thinking and behaving.  It has a wide range of applications and is particularly useful for depression and anxiety.