The 32 Month-er

As I've mentioned, I'm taking Cognitive Behavioral Therapy this semester. I really wanted to take this class because it seems as though more and more therapists are incorporating CBT techniques into their work. The reason for this lies in a greater interest in Evidence-based Practice (aka therapeutic modalities that research has shown to be affective in reducing symtoms of depression and other mental health conditions). CBT is also the primary modality used at my field placement - so I really wanted to make sure I had solid understanding of these techniques.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an overarching movement in psychotherapy which emphasizes the exploration of a patient's cognitive schemas to effect changes in their cognition and subsequently, their behavior. So, basically the clinician helps the person identify their dysfunctional beliefs or assumptions and together they gradually work to replace them with a more balanced/healthy schema. So, one example of an individual's maladaptive belief might be "if I do well in school my parents will love me". It may be hard to believe that someone might think this but the point is that they may be totally unaware that they are operating on this notion. Which is where the clinician comes in. Working with someone in therapy can help a person get in touch with these core beliefs that very often were forged in one's childhood.

Several techniques are rooted in CBT principals including Cognitive Therapy (CT), Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) and Multi-Modal Therapy. It may help to think of CBT as the big umbrella and CT, RET, and Multi-Modal as under that umbrella. So far in class, we've talked about how these modalities can be useful in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I will cover these subjects more in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.