Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Aaron Beck- A Foundation

 BACKGROUND

In the 1950s and 1960s ,Dr. Aaron Beck decided to test psychoanalytic concept that depression
is hostility turned inwards which led him to analyze themes from patients’ dreams.
He found themes of loss and deprivation instead of hostility. He noticed the parallels of such
behavior in their conscious state.
While listening to his patients, he identified two types of thinking :
1. Free, associative thinking
2. Quick, evaluative thoughts

He then helped his patients identify, evaluate and respond to their automatic negative thoughts
or (a.n.t.s) .
Thus, he shifted from a past-oriented approach to a present oriented approach to therapy which
proved to be more efficient than medication as researched by his fellow residents over a
period of time.
Evolution of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

• ancient Greek and Buddhist writings include

assumptions that conscious thought influences our
action
• cognitive methods became more widespread as the
field of psychology adopted a more cognitive
orientation
• behaviorists saw that the cognitive approach could
address new issues
Evolution of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
(continued)

• behavior therapists have accepted cognitive

approaches when therapy is evaluated by measuring
changes in overt behavior
• some continue to argue that the cognitive methods
are too vague and may not be that powerful
 Theory Underlying Cognitive Therapy
• The cognitive model emphasises the role of dysfunctional thoughts as the reason for a disturbed
emotional state and the resultant behavior.
Three Levels of thought
 What is Cognitive Therapy ?
• Beck Developed Cognitive Therapy in the 1960s which is a present oriented short term
psychotherapy initially targeting depression but is now widely applicable to a wide variety of
problems like anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating and attentional disorders, stress
and so forth.

• It is aimed at identifying, evaluating and transforming maladaptive or dysfunctional

automatic thoughts for shifts in emotions and behavior based in the present.

• Treatment is based on individual specific patterns and the main goal of the therapy is
enduring cognitive change, i.e. the therapist’s ability to mediate and transform the belief
system to adapt to current emotions and behavior.

• Beck drew on the work from the lives of Epictetus, Karen Horney, Richard Lazarus, George
Kelley, Albert Bandura and Alfred Adler.
 What are Cognitive-
Behavioral Therapies?
cognitive-behavioral therapies combine cognitive and
behavioral techniques to help clients to:
• understand problems
• see patterns of irrational thought
• evaluate behaviors based on more rational thinking
• teach new skills to promote self-regulation
 Why Cognitive Processes
Can Be Important
cognitive processes appear central to a number of
problem behaviors
• clinical depression involves cognitions related to
hopelessness, pessimism, and low self-esteem
• people become fearful of highly publicized but
unlikely events
• those worried about pain tend to rate pain as higher
 Cognitive Restructuring Approaches

• Beck’s cognitive therapy

– holds that faulty and negativistic thought
patterns lead to behavioral and emotional
problems
– beliefs are held in schema that automatically
evaluate situations
– distorted stored beliefs can automatically
generate irrational thoughts
 Cognitive Therapy
• cognitive therapy uses a collaborative approach
between client and therapist
• cognitive therapy uses a hypothesis testing approach
• the client typically is assigned homework
– evaluation of thoughts
– collection of evidence to test beliefs
– behavioral activities like relaxation exercises
 Beck’s Cognitive Errors
Beck identified a number of common erroneous
thought patterns:
• dichotomous thinking involves all-or-none
evaluations
• In overgeneralization, a rule or belief is applied too
broadly
• arbitrary inference refers to drawing inaccurate
conclusions based on insufficient, ambiguous, or
contrary evidence