Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Case Study

Ellis (1993) writes of how there is an inner conflict in all people. Humans have an ability to create, develop, and actualize themselves as healthy goal-attaining people. However, this being said they also have an ability to structure irrational thinking, inappropriate emotions and dysfunctional behaviours (Nelson-Jones 1995). Each person on this earth has their own internal storage device for gathering thoughts, ideas, beliefs, memories, the list goes on. A persons mind can affect them in so many ways that can’t be seen from the external perspective people take of them. When a person is experiencing difficulty trying to comprehend what it is exactly that is going on in their head they may approach it in a number of different ways, such as
(Beck 2013). This particular approach is generally more focused on the present whereas other approaches taken can be more orientated towards looking into the past of the client. Cognitive behavioural therapy therefore focuses with the current issues and problems of the client. It is usually more problem-solving orientated and more restricted by the amount of time limited to treatment. A bonus of effective cognitive behavioural therapy is that patients will develop skills that will aid them to; identify distorted thinking; modify their beliefs; relate to others in different ways, and change their behaviour. These skills can be useful not just after therapy but for the rest of their lives (Beck website). However, by failing to consider the past experiences of a person and only focusing on the here and now can this approach to therapy not have negative consequences towards the thinking or behaviour of a person also? What happens in peoples past can surely have some form of effect on how that person is thinking or behaving in the
2010). The role of CBT is then to help the client view such thoughts, not as fact, but as a believable explanation that should be put to tests and revised as needed (Austin et al. 2010). In order for clients to get the best possible results they are encouraged to account for all the evidence when deciding on the validity and accuracy of their thoughts. In other words they should consider everything that occurred before finalizing their opinion on any particular subject. Empiricism is the view that personal beliefs are based on evidence gathered from our senses. Dryden (2012) explains how the principle of empiricism in CBT guides the way that clients are encouraged to test out their beliefs, thinking styles, and behaviours in the real world. A person may make an assumption that they are not popular amongst colleges because they do not make an effort to talk to him or her. In turn that person may try to the best of their ability to avoid awkward situations with the colleges. However, perhaps that person didn’t make much of an effort either and now by avoiding the others, has isolated themselves. Until that person tries to make contact with these people they will never know how they actually feel about them. Effective CBT empowers the client to adopt an empirical