Forms of Psychotherapy - Cognitive Therapy

CBT is a popular therapy for anxiety and depression that helps people replace harmful thoughts with realistic ones. It addresses biological, psychological, and social factors, teaching clients to control their reactions and build lifelong coping skills.

• Cognitive therapies locate the cause of psychological distress in irrational thoughts and beliefs.
• These therapies focus on solving specific client problems through short-term sessions, typically 10-20 meetings.
• Unlike psychodynamic therapy, cognitive therapy is open as therapists share their methods with clients.
• Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck developed key cognitive therapy models used within CBT.
• Cognitive therapy emphasises challenging and restructuring faulty thinking patterns for emotional relief.

• RET states that irrational beliefs create a link between antecedent events and their negative consequences.
• The ABC analysis is the first step, where antecedent events trigger irrational beliefs leading to emotional distress.
• Irrational beliefs often include "musts" and "shoulds," such as "everyone must love me all the time."
• Therapists use gentle, non-directive questioning to help clients refute these irrational beliefs.
• Clients gradually replace irrational beliefs with rational ones, reducing psychological distress.

• Beck's theory links childhood experiences to core schemas that shape beliefs and action patterns.
• A critical life incident triggers these core schemas, producing negative automatic thoughts like "I'm stupid."
• Negative automatic thoughts involve cognitive distortions that twist reality negatively.
• Therapists use gentle questioning to dispute these thoughts and promote cognitive restructuring.
• The goal is to alter dysfunctional cognitive structures, thereby reducing anxiety and depression.

• CBT combines cognitive therapy with behavioural techniques for comprehensive treatment.
• Research proves CBT effective as a short-term therapy for anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and personality disorders.
• It addresses biological aspects through relaxation, psychological aspects through therapy techniques, and social aspects through environmental changes.
• CBT is easy to apply across various disorders due to its comprehensive biopsychosocial approach.
• Clients actively participate in the open, structured process during limited sessions.

• CBT is a common therapy for anxiety and depression that helps replace negative thoughts with realistic ones.
• It follows a biopsychosocial approach, addressing biological, psychological, and social causes of distress.
• Cognitive therapy states that psychological problems arise from irrational thoughts and beliefs.
• Albert Ellis’ RET uses the ABC model (Antecedent–Belief–Consequence) to identify and challenge irrational beliefs.
• Aaron Beck’s theory explains how negative automatic thoughts and cognitive distortions cause anxiety and depression.
• CBT is a short-term therapy (10–20 sessions) that teaches effective coping skills.