Cognitive Therapies Thoughts Behaviors Emotions

Cognitive therapy assumes that maladaptive behavior is the result of irrational thoughts, beliefs or ideas. Thoughts Behaviors Emotions

Cognitive therapy assumes that maladaptive behavior is the result of irrational thoughts, beliefs or ideas.

Cognitive therapy assumes that maladaptive behavior is the result of irrational thoughts, beliefs or ideas. It is a therapy that teaches people new, more adaptive ways of thinking and acting; based on the assumption that thoughts intervene between events and our emotional reactions.

“Men are disturbed not by things, Cognitive therapy aligns with a saying by Epictetus, a 2nd century B.C.E. philosopher: “Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them”

There are two schools of thought in cognitive therapy, both are very similar: Albert Ellis Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) Aaron Beck Cognitive Therapy (CT)

Harry asked Sally to the concert and was turned down without reason. Many people believe, that events are what cause people to feel emotion. A (Activating Event) C (Consequences) Harry asked Sally to the concert and was turned down without reason. Harry was dejected, angry and depressed A causes C

Albert Ellis’s view is that beliefs about the event causes the emotion. B (Beliefs about Event) C (Consequences) Irrational Beliefs It’s terrible if I get turned down. I can’t stand this! I’m humiliated! Emotional Distress Harry was dejected, angry and depressed A (Activating Event) Harry asked Sally to the concert and was turned down without reason. B (Beliefs about Event) C (Consequences) Rational Beliefs “If she doesn’t want to go out with me, I will take someone else. It’s too bad, but that’s life.” Emotional Consequence Harry is somewhat annoyed and disappointed but is looking forward to the concert anyway

If you want “C” to be different, you have to change A or B A + B = C If you want “C” to be different, you have to change A or B A = Activating Event B = Beliefs C = Emotional Consequences

Disputing Irrational Beliefs If you can’t change “A,” You must change “B.” A = Activating Event B = Beliefs C = Emotional Consequences Ellis’ Irrational Beliefs handout

Disputing Irrational Beliefs Serenity Prayer God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;  courage to change the things I can;  and wisdom to know the difference.

Distortions of Thinking Jumping to conclusions without evidence Arbitrary interference Personalization Selective thinking Assuming too much personal responsibility Cognitive Distortions Focusing on only one aspect of the situation Magnification and minimization Over-generalization Negative events blown out of proportion; positive events ignored Making sweeping conclusions based on only one incident

Cognitive Therapies Cognitive-behavioral therapy: Learning to think more rationally and logically Three goals: Relieve symptoms and solve problems Develop strategies for solving future problems Help change irrational, distorted thinking Cognitive–behavioral therapies are action therapies that work at changing a person’s illogical or distorted thinking. L16.19

Frequency of Self-Reinforcement Elaine Heiby believes there are two important reasons that people may engage in a low level of self-reinforcement and be depressed. First, they may set unrealistically high goals for themselves; that is, they have aspirations beyond any hope of attainment. Second, they may fail to attend to or discriminate a tar- get response when it occurs; that is, they fail to acknowledge success. Score 1 point for: T on 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 29 F on 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 30

Group Therapies: Not Just for the Shy

Types of Group Therapy There are many styles of group therapy Counselor led groups Groups meet with a counselor to work on a specific topic Family Therapy Family members meet together with focus of roles, communication and how the system works Self-help groups Group of people with similar problems meet together without therapist Group therapy can be accomplished using many styles of psychotherapy. Wood15.11

Group Therapy Advantages Disadvantages Low cost Exposure to others with similar problems Social interaction with others Social and emotional support Effective for people with social anxiety Disadvantages Must share therapist’s time Lack of private setting in which to reveal concerns Severely disordered persons unable to tolerate group Mastering13.12

Evaluation of Group Therapy Most useful for people who cannot afford individual therapy Can provide a great deal of social and emotional support and validation Evaluation of Group Therapy L16.6