Essay on Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) involves rehabilitation that helps people manage problems by transforming the way people behave and think. This therapy helps in the treatment of anxiety and depression but at the same time can help mental and physical health complications (O'Donohue & Fisher, 2008). It is a combination of psychotherapy and behavioral therapy which focuses on the importance of personal meaning and close attention to the existing relationship between the existing problems. Those involved in the process need to personalize and customize the therapy to the specific needs of each patient. According to the case study, it is not appropriate to focus on hopelessness. This is because hopelessness is like a form of double depression to an individual that can affect an individual undergoing mental or health related issue.

For treatment across sessions, it is essential to build a strong therapeutic alliance and identify the goals of the treatment for the patient then apply the CBT model. At the same time, it is essential to educate the client, respond to the automatic thoughts, socialize them and at the same time socialize with them. During the first phase of the therapy, it is essential for the therapist to take the lead. For the middle phase of the therapy, there is a need to teach the patients the necessary skills to achieve their goals and use the intellectual and emotional techniques that will help facilitate the process. During the last phase of the therapy, it is essential to focus on preventing relapse. There is a need to modify the standard treatment and address Marias depressive episode since there are mixed feelings of sadness, feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness which are not covered in the standard treatment.

An automatic thought is a concept in CBT that states that the mind helps interpret the world around us, describes the happenings and at the same time try to make sense through the interpretation of events, sounds, and smells. The significant difference between automatic thought and emotion is that thoughts involve two or more phrases while emotion is often one word.

For Maria, the automatic thoughts include: Things will get better in life, I can handle it, I have much of the future, and I will clean all the mess ups. This will be elicited during the CBT session through imagery and creating in-vivo role-plays that will help teach how to identify positive automatic thoughts for the session. Maria is so hopeless and has lost interest in fundamental events and people. Marias therapy is expected to target on the negative thoughts and assumptions.

It is important to me that age is just but a number." This means that in the contemporary environment, a person's age provides a great deal of information about the person.

I came to hold onto this belief as a result of the emerging issues in sexuality, alcohol, and drugs. Age cannot currently be used as a metric to evaluate an individual's ability to make a right decision in matters related to sexuality, alcohol and drug abuse. Over the years this belief has transformed and I belief that while is it true that an individuals age is simply that, it doesnt determine one's personality or barrier through which one cannot reach. Currently, even young people have the ability to engage in rational thinking and make precise decisions than the elderly. The essential aspect is ones life is the moral values that one possesses.

The change of belief affected the mutual interaction that existed earlier with the clients. This is because there was an assumption about what the client can and cannot do for themselves as a result of their ages. The change has controlled my actions, behavior and the overall potential.

Reference

O'Donohue, W. T., & Fisher, J. E. (2008). Cognitive behavior therapy: Applying empirically supported techniques in your practice. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.