1. Cognitive Behavior Modification Chapter 27

2. Cognitive Behavior Modification Cognition –Belief, thought, expectancy, attitude, or perception Cognitive Behavior Modification – Cognitive Behavior Therapy –Helping clients through behavioral modification methods and through focusing on debilitating thoughts and beliefs

3. Cognitive Restructuring Methods Assumptions: –Individuals interpret and react to events in terms of their perceived significance –Cognitive deficiencies can cause emotional disorders Focus of therapy: Cognitive restructuring –Changing faulty thinking patterns Approaches include behavior modification components

4. Cognitive Restructuring Methods Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) –Developed to help individuals change irrational thought –Utilizes in vivo behavioral homework assignments –Procedure: Identify irrational thoughts Challenge thoughts Teaching client (through modeling and homework) to replace the irrational self-statements with statements based on “rational” beliefs

5. Effectiveness of REBT More effective than no treatment More effective than various other treatments in decreasing client’s irrational self-talk (46%) More effective than other treatments in reducing emotional distress (27%) No effect on behavioral measures (approaching feared object)

6. Cognitive Restructuring Methods Beck’s Cognitive Therapy –Faulty and negativistic though patterns lead to behavioral and emotional problems Procedure: –Identification of dysfunctional thoughts –Use various methods to counteract the dysfuctional thoughts Ex: Hypothesis testing –Use of homework assignments that utilize behavior modification procedures to develop desirable daily activities Gentler, less confrontational approach than REBT

7. Beck’s Distorted Thought Patterns Dichotomous thinking – all or none evaluations Overgeneralization – rule or belief applied too broadly Arbitrary Inference – drawing inaccurate conclusions based on insufficient, ambiguous, or contrary evidence Magnification – exaggeration of the meaning or impact of an event

8. Effectiveness of Cognitive Therapy Effective in treating depression Most research has focused on treatment of depression More research needed to evaluate this treatment for other disorders

9. Self-Directed Coping Methods Self-Instructional Training –Five steps: Adult demonstration of self-instructing Child performs while adult verbalizes Child performs the task and verbalizes out loud Fading of overt self-instructions Task performance with covert self-instructions

10. Self-Directed Coping Methods Meichenbaum’s Stress Inoculation Training –Teaches cognitive skills that allow clients to deal with stressful events Three Phases: –Reinterpretation phase It is not the stressor that is the cause of stress reaction but it is the way the client views the event –Coping training phase Clients learn coping strategies –Relaxation, self-instruction, and self-reinforcement –Application phase Clients practice skills in stressful situations

11. Effectiveness of Stress Inoculation Many of the components (relaxation, modeling, desensitization) have been validated when applied independently Evidence suggests that this method is as effective as its component procedures

12. Self-Directed Coping Methods Problem Solving Training –Teaches people how to proceed through logical reasoning to satisfactory solutions to personal problems –Steps in personal problem solving: General orientation Problem definition Generation of alternatives Decision making Implementation Verification Evaluation of problem solving methods –Adults and children can rapidly learn skills, but do not often apply them appropriately

13. Mindfulness and Acceptance Mindfulness –Awareness, observation, and description of one’s overt and covers behaviors, as they occur, in a nonjudgmental way Acceptance –Set of behaviors in reaction to mindfulness Refraining from judging one’s sensations, feelings, and behaviors Thoughts are viewed as just responses, just passing events

14. Mindfulness and Acceptance Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) –Three phases: Learning that past attempts to control troublesome thoughts and emotions have not only been unsuccessful, but increased the frequency of these thoughts Learning to experience thoughts and emotions in a nonjudgmental way –Done through use of mindfulness training and acceptance exercises Identifying values in various life domains and then translating these values into goals and actions –Evaluation Early studies find positive results –Equivalent to systematic desensitization for treatment of math anxiety –Effective in reducing stress in the workplace Relatively new approach and more research needed