Elainna Simpson

Dr. Lauritsen
Clinical Psychology
11/29/2020
Reflection 5
The psychotherapy theory that appeals the most to me is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

This theory combines the importance of changing behaviors while also recognizing the significance of

cognitions and emotional responses in mental disorders. The goal of this therapy is to help clients think

logically and rationally about situations and not fall victim to common thought distortions. This therapy

resonates with me because I believed that much of how we act and feel is due to the thoughts that we

have and that targeting these thoughts can be a great way to deliver therapy to clients.

One aspect of CBT that I appreciate is how it can truly apply to all people. CBT theory does not

just help those with mental disorders but is for anyone who is experiencing dysfunction due to their

cognitions. The thought distortions created by Aaron Beck are common and can affect anyone’s thinking

and emotions, but if we label these distortions their effect becomes weaker. CBT therapy also utilizes

homework to help clients practice what they are taught in therapy sessions. The addition of homework

is beneficial since it provides the client’s tools to practice which can facilitate an easy transition out of

therapy. One form of homework can be to write down situations that bring about unwanted symptoms,

this can help to understand how illogical thoughts occur and the emotions they cause. Writing down

emotions, thoughts, and actions can help build this skill in hopes a client will be able to unconsciously

change their behaviors and thoughts to something more logical. Also within this homework, the client

could practice labeling their cognitive distortions so they can recognize them and fight against them. CBT

also tests cognitions and beliefs as hypotheses, demonstrating to the clients that they are illogical. I

think this method helps to physically prove the irrationality of these cognitions and helps the client

notice if future cognitions have illogical nature.

 CBT, in relation to the other psychotherapy theories, has some strengths. First, unlike

psychodynamic theory and humanistic theory, CBT therapy and its sessions are more brief, structured,

and targeted. The organization of this therapy can be very beneficial to the client since they reach

remission of symptoms faster due to the targeted format of therapy sessions instead of an open-ended

format. Also unlike psychodynamic and humanistic theories, CBT has strong empirical evidence that the

therapy works. This strong empirical evidence matched with its strong clinical significance demonstrates

its utility as a form of psychotherapy. Another strength of CBT is that it can treat a range of disorders

compared to behavioral psychotherapy theory which focuses primarily on treating anxiety disorders, like

phobias. Lastly, psychoeducation and learning skills can greatly improve not only someone’s mental

disorder symptoms but also their quality of life. Homework to learn these skills are less likely to be given

from a psychodynamic or humanistic therapist compared to a CBT therapist. Overall, there are quite a

few strengths compared to other psychotherapy perspectives, such as quicker and more targeted

therapy, strong empirical evidence, treatment of a range of disorders, and homework.

Despite its strengths, CBT does have some weaknesses compared to the other psychotherapy

theories. Mindfulness theory focuses on accepting thoughts and changing someone’s relationship with

those thoughts. This theory acknowledges that the thoughts may not go away, so it is important to

accept and move past the emotions tied to them. I believe that this idea is incredibly important and

learning acceptance can be very important for a client to learn to live with their negative cognitions. CBT

has less of a focus on acceptance so including some mindfulness techniques could improve CBT

effectiveness. Another possible weakness of CBT is that there is slightly less importance placed on the

therapist-client relationship compared to other theories. The humanistic theory of psychotherapy

focuses on that relationship by allowing the client to move the conversation and the therapist is focused

less on speaking. Therefore, humanistic theory could lead to a better therapist-client relationship

compared to CBT, and that relationship is one of the key common factors that benefit a client despite
the psychotherapy perspective of the therapist. Even though there are a few weaknesses, it is clear that

CBT is a beneficial form of psychotherapy and it is clear why it is a leader in the field right now.