Good Example Of Cognitive Behavioral Theory Essay

The cognitive behavioral theory is a theory that uses the thought patterns to change the moods, behavior and to some extent the worldview of a person (“A summary of Traditional CBT,” n.d.). Faced by a client who is experiencing financial crisis due to recent loss of a job, and has baby to raise, a husband deployed abroad, and lack of family support, the cognitive behavioral theory is best used in the therapy. There are certain key aspects that make the cognitive behavioral theory the best.

Concepts of cognitive behavioral theory

First, the environment affects thoughts that in turn affect one’s feelings and consequently, behavior (McGuire, n.d. p. 23). The environment causes stimuli that lead to certain responses. If the stimuli are negative, the responses will be negative. In the case, the major concerns of the client are causing many negative thoughts. Stress is evident from her profile caused by four main issues that affect the way she feels and behaves. Secondly, there is an inter-relationship between how one thinks, feels, and behaves. There three modalities determine the activity of any organism or human being. These are emotions, cognition, and behavior. Behavior entails the body movement, motor system, and speech. The emotional modality is how one is feeling or how one expresses arousal. Cognition refers to how one acquires knowledge or the intuition of the person. Third is self-regulation and language. Thoughts, feelings, and behavior are all based on the one’s cognition. Fourth is problem-solving orientation in that it seeks to increase self-efficacy. The main reason anyone seeks counseling is because such a person is facing problems. Therefore, a theory that has an orientation towards solving the problem(s) practically would be better than the others. Fifth, the theory goes beyond the self and considers how external factors contribute to the problem(s).

Why cognitive behavioral theory

The theory is preferred because it fits well the problems faced by the client. Anna having lost a job recently has various negative thoughts as indicated in her profile that she does not sleep well, feed well, and even has lost ten pounds within two months. The negative thoughts are reinforced by the absence of the husband who would, in normal circumstances, assist in bringing up their child and not willing to seek help from her parents. Cognitive theory alone would not accommodate all the aspects facing the client since they go beyond mere cognition. Reality theory, on the other hand, would not cater for the aspects such as lack of a job that is not resulting from the fault of the client.

Goals and intervention strategies

The main goals of counseling are to help the client cope with the situation(s). The client is facing various major issues. She lost her job, her husband is away, and she never cleared college, she has a child to look after and does not want to seek help from the family. It is imperative that she feels lonely, and the odd one out from her family as all her siblings have graduated from college unlike her. In addition, she has not kept a close relationship with the family since she had more than a year without seeing her family. The strategies would include restoration of the self-esteem and confidence. There is a need to help her cope with the loss of a job, and let her know that it is not bad to seek help from the family. Moreover, the fact that the husband had been deployed abroad does not make him an absentee husband as such since he is set to return in eight months’ time. She does not mention having friends something that indicates her social skills may be wanting.

Time span of the theory

The theory is designed for both short term and long term. The time span can be subjective since the clients have different needs. However, it is evident that the problem-solving orientation makes it a relatively short term theory with very specific goals. It can last for five to twenty weeks.

Counselor’s role

The counselor main objectives are to listen, guide, educate, motivate, and also help the client to solve their problems. In this case, the counselor seeks to instill positive thoughts, image, worldview and encourages the client to face their challenges with a positive attitude. The counselor makes follow-ups to find how the client is coping and hence he or she works hand in hand with the client until the client assumes “normal” life.
The client cooperates with the counselor all the time. The client has to remain truthful and seek to do what he or she is required by the counselor. The client also has the duty to report progress including the changes that may occur in the process of the therapy.

Population(s) best suited for the cognitive behavioral theory

The theory is best suited for population facing, anxiety, panic, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, brain injury, somatic disorders, social anxiety, depression, stress management, and child anxiety disorders (Australian Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy, n.d. par. 3).

Additional information to know in this case

The counselor needs to know whether the husband supports her (Anna) financially. In addition, the counselor needs to know Anna’s friends, and whether she had been saving some money while she was working.

Risk of the theory

The theory takes relatively a short period. Therefore, the client may not gain full benefits from the counseling. However, follow-up can help solve this challenge.

References

Australian Association for cognitive and Behavioral Therapy. (n.d.). What is CBT?. Retrieved from http://www.aacbt.org/viewStory/WHAT+IS+CBT%3F
A Summary of Traditional CBT (n.d.). Retrieved from http://dhs.sd.gov/ddc/documents/CognitiveBehaviorTherapy.pdf
McGuire J. (n.d). COGNITIVE – BEHAVIOURAL APPROACHES: An introduction to theory and research. PDF. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/inspectorate- reports/hmiprobation/other-reports/cogbeh1-rps.pdf