PSYCHOLOGY

Cognitive Behaviour Psychotherapy

Cognitive Behaviour Psychotherapy

Introduction

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or CBP is a widely accepted and acknowledged therapy for patients suffering from depression, anxiety and other mood disorders. This technique encourages the patient to communicate his or her fears and work with the therapist to search for a solution. CBP is a pragmatic and action-oriented approach to treat mood disorders. The therapy came out in the 1950s when it was developed by Dr. Aaron Beck. It is considered to be the most effective and efficient treatment method for patient experiencing depression or other form of mental disorder. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence recognises the technique as an effect method of treating depression of moderate and severe degree.

Dr. Albert Ellis carried on the work on CBP initiated by Dr. Beck and developed the Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy or REBT. Since then, personalities such as Dr. Mahoney, Dr. Burns, Dr. Padesky, Dr. Greenberger and Dr. Meichenbaum have been further advances in the field of psychotherapy.

Changes in the mind and body occur when a person is suffering from acute or severe psychological problem. A person's emotions, thoughts, reactions and eventually behaviour are all interconnected in such a way that past experiences can dictate the outcomes in life. In some cases, the present can also have an effect on the cognitive state of the person facing depression. Psychologists believe that human behaviour is the outcome the experiences one has had in the past or present (Padesky & Greenberger, 1995, pp. 78).

Cognition refers to a person's thought process, perception and knowledge. Cognitive behaviour psychotherapy renders importance of the person's behaviours, emotions, bodily reactions and experiences of life. People look at one experience in a different light than the other. It is this very perception of the event that influences our mind and body and how we respond to it. CBP looks to emphasise on altering existing behaviour and experimenting to relieve the patient of maladaptive perceptions and suppositions. The presence of change in perception of events has been present in humans for thousands of years. Disturbance in humans are caused not by the incident but by the way we perceive things and our beliefs about things. It is our mind that categorises things as good or bad based on our perceptions.

The human brain is capable of developing thousand of thoughts in a single day. These thoughts sometimes help us gain confidence and give us belief, but can also put us down and lose hope in life. Since humans are not aware of their perception of things, these automatic thoughts our brain develops are basically assumptions that we have of ourselves and of others.

Enveloped deep in our brain are the core beliefs or values that serve as a code of conduct as to how should one live and respond to any given situation. Our beliefs have the potential to leave us with positive and negative experiences in life. For some individuals, it is rather difficult to alter their ...