Cognitive Behavior Therapy: A Case Study

As the counselor/therapist by using cognitive behavior therapy in assisting Andrea to recognize negative patterns of thoughts assessed by her validity and interchange them with healthier ways of thinking. Cognitive therapy may vary to a certain extent in how provoked patterns of maladaptive beliefs/ schema, automatic thoughts and behaviors. Behavioral method will be used in altering maladaptive cognitions and behaviors some form of is such as data collection, role play, disputation, and hypothesis testing to alter cognitive errors. Such behavior methods include stimulus control, contingency management, activity scheduling, role play, direct teaching of skills.
Goals
Goals 1. Is to aid Andrea in monitoring her behavior, and to gain stimulus
control. Andrea will be assigned homework. She will be asked to collect baseline data about the frequency and severity of her problems and the stimulus condition that antecede the problems. This is to aid in keeping track of situations in which she may be distressed or uses maladaptive coping methods. This helps to test the validity of the automatic thoughts and schemas she encounters, assist with tracking the cognitions that accompany, precede or follow these situations and experiences, before, during and after the situation. It will aid in monitoring her behavior methods. As a result of monitoring her behavior Andrea will gain stimulus control. . (Murdock, 2013)
Goal 2. Is to get Andrea to concentrate and identifying cognitive errors. This is best accomplished by evoking emotion during the retelling re-experiencing of critical incident, which also evokes the cognition that accompanied the incident, due to state dependent learning, Andrea will be asked to retell as if it is happening currently here and now critical incidents, first experiences, or most recent episodes that typify the problem. Andrea will evoke both emotion and cognition (Murdock, 2013).
Goal 3 The target is to aid Andrea in recognizing and labeling her cognitive errors. This encourages the client to take a more scientific or logical or realistic look at the conclusions she draws and underlying assumptions. Cognitive restructuring or altering the core or intermediary beliefs, may be accomplished by “thought experiments” to test underlying assumptions, by developing and testing alternative hypotheses or by asking Andrea to check it out by talking with others , or by asking her to act as if the situation is extreme negative self-evaluations, and unrealistic generalization.

Spiritual Application
The appropriate use of the healing power of scripture and prayer in Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the significant factor of healing (Butman& Jones, 2011). CBT is supported methodically for many disorders. The Bible is our example of God’s word, the scriptures offer us comfort, clarity, correction, character change, cleansing, conviction, and healing (Butman& Jones, 2011). By means of referring to these truths, Andrea will learn how to reconstruct her imperfect rational or irrational beliefs.
The integration of scripture and prayer, however, has to be done wisely.
As the scriptures read a man that wins a soul is wise (KJV). Therefore as the counselor/therapist, one must be knowledgeable and skilled integrating biblical principles without making my client feel overwhelmed with the process (Butman & Jones, 2011).
Spiritual integration in counseling can be significant and applied. It has been reported based on collected data that support how theories of counseling can be improved or heighten by Christian values (McMinn, 2011).
Cognitive behavior therapy is science based or naturalism based therefore it does not acknowledge that God is real, it alludes that humans are sinful and suggest that people are proficient of self- recovery (Butman & Jones, 2011). Although it appears to be good to integrate prayer and scripture with (CBT) and has been empirical proven to be beneficial there are some who will not accept it (Tan, 2007).
Spirituality issues may also surface in treatment when spirituality act as fundamental aspects of my client’s culture and conflict with the acculturation process (Worthington & Sandage, 2002). In other words, beliefs regarding spirituality define one’s existence. These same convictions often serve as obstacles to acculturation into
society.
Conclusion
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is favorable in the treatment of Andrea, the focus is to help her to differentiate between irrational beliefs and rational beliefs (Murdock, 2013). The goal is to encourage her to draw a connection between irrational beliefs, distress in contrast to rational beliefs, adaptive responding, and to assess her beliefs from a practical perspective.
By using behavioral methods such as role play, problem-solving, activity scheduling to assist with reinforcing adaptive behavior, ultimately helping Andrea to acquire some social skills, think more rationally about her experiences, routinely check out her assumptions and reduce cognitive error (Murdock, 2013).
What may pose to be challenging for Andrea in using CT as a method of treatment is as the counselor I may have to tell her that something is wrong or that her view does not reflect reality. I have to pose this in such a way that she do not feel as though she is being criticized, or judged. When I merely want for her to feel she is free to discuss whatever she feels is necessary for her healing process (Murdock, 2013).