Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Case Study

Introduction Gloria is a 33-year-old Caucasian woman who was mandated to seek counselling services as part of her sentencing. She had recently moved to Ottawa from Alberta because of her partner’s new employment opportunity, and she has no other family in the area. Gloria had been a recovering addict for six years; she also has a previous criminal record for driving under the influence and public intoxication. Additionally, she is currently unemployed; she graduated high school and completed some community college education. Since moving to Ottawa, Gloria has held a few precarious jobs at different fast food establishments. Unfortunately, Gloria’s marriage had recently ended and shortly after she began using again. Gloria’s drug of choice has always been cocaine; when she first stopped using
512). CBT is an appropriate therapeutic approach for someone with addiction issues because it helps to uncover underlying negative thought patterns that often exacerbate ones propensity to drug use (McHugh et al., 2010, p. 512). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a system of psychotherapy based on the “elaborated theory of psychopathology and personality” (Beck, 2010, p. 1). This treatment model is “goal-oriented, time-sensitive, educative and collaborative” (Beck, 2010, p. 1). It requires a strong client-counselor relationship, whereby the client and clinician can work together. Subsequently, a client works with a counselor to identify and examine the way in which their feelings and thoughts influence their perceptions, and how those feelings/perceptions can translate into behavioral problems. The goal then becomes, “correcting misperceptions and modifying unhelpful thinking and behaviour patterns” (Beck, 2010, p.1). In Gloria’s case, this would be correcting her interpretation of herself as worthless because her partner unexpectedly left