Aaron Beck’s Cognitive Therapy

Key concepts Cognitive Model of Development Automatic Thoughts Early childhood experiences lead to basic beliefs about oneself and one’s world Automatic Thoughts Automatic thought is a significant role in perceived distress. Cognitive Schemas How individuals think about their world Schemas develop early in life from personal experience and interaction with others.

Key concepts—cognitive Distortions All or nothing thinking Unless I get A, I have failed. Negative prediction Form conclusions without any supporting evidence A person has done well on exams, but predicts that he/she will fail an exam Selective abstraction Form conclusions based on just one event

Key concepts—cognitive Distortions Mind reading We think that we know what another person thinks of us Catastrophizing Exaggerate our concerns Overgeneralization Based on one single event and applying it to future events Because I did poorly on my first math exam, I can’t do math.

Key concepts—cognitive Distortions Magnification and minimization Magnify imperfections or minimize good points Personalization Relate external events to themselves even when there is no basis for the connection. Labeling and mislabeling A negative view of oneself is based on imperfections or mistakes made in the past

The goals of Therapy Observe automatic thoughts, identify cognitive distortions, and ask for evidences for reality testing the cognitive distortions Use automatic thoughts to reach the core schema and introduce the idea of schema restructuring Focus on specific goals

The Therapeutic Relationship Therapeutic relationship is necessary, but not sufficient for therapeutic effect Educate clients about how thoughts influence their emotions and behaviors Teach client how to be their own therapist Use homework to test their beliefs in daily-life situations

Therapeutic Techniques The three-question techniques What is the evidence for the belief? How else can you interpret the situation? If it is true, what are the implications? Specifying automatic thoughts Situation Automatic Thoughts Emotions Alternative Response Outcome

Therapeutic Techniques Understanding idiosyncratic meaning What does it mean to be a loser? What-if technique (good for overreact clients) If…..what would happen? Listing advantages and disadvantages Challenging absolutes (everyone, always, never….) Everyone at work is smarter than me.

Therapeutic Techniques Reattribution attribute responsibility to the situations and not persons Cognitive Rehearsal Use of imagination in dealing with un-coming events Challenging all or nothing thinking Scaling: from a dichotomy to a continuum Labeling of distortion Labeling distortion to increase awareness

Cognitive Triad: Pattern that triggers depression Clients hold negative view of themselves and blames themselves What is the evidence for the belief? Client has a tendency to interpret experiences in a negative manner How else can you interpret the situation? Client has a gloomy projections about the future If it is true, what are the implications?

Research on cognitive therapy (CT) More research on depression, followed by generalized anxiety (GA), OCD, and other psychological disorder. Meta-analyses indicate that CT for dealing with depression and GA is superior to wait list or control groups CT works better for those who are less depressed than for those who are more depressed CT works better than behavior therapy for GA

From a multicultural perspective ---Contributions Diverse populations appreciate the emphasis on cognition and actions Some studies on CBT approach with minority groups

From a multicultural perspective --limitations Exploring core beliefs is important in CBT needs to be sensitive to cultural background and context Value “working hard”feel ashamed for not living up to the expectations divorcebring shame to her family

Summary and Evaluation contributions: research support that CT is a empirically validated treatment Limitations denying the past being too technique-oriented failing to use the therapeutic relationship working only to reduce symptoms failing to explore the underlying causes of difficulties ignoring unconscious factors and emotions