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Unit 23: Psychotherapy: Cognitive Approach

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that aims to help you manage your problems Notes
by changing how you think and act.
CBT encourages you to talk about :
• how you think about yourself, the world and other people
• how what you do affects your thoughts and feelings
By talking about these things, CBT can help you to change how you think (‘cognitive’) and what
you do (‘behaviour’), which can help you feel better about life.

23.1 Concept of Cognitive Approach (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) of
Psychotherapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (also known by its abbreviation, CBT) is a short-term, goal-oriented
psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands- on, practical approach to problem-solving. Its goal it to
change patterns of thinking or behavior that are behind people’s difficulties, and so change the way
they feel. It is used to help treat a wide range of issues in a person’s life, from sleeping difficulties
or relationship problems, to drug and alcohol abuse or anxiety and depression. CBT works by
changing people’s attitudes and their behavior by focusing on the thoughts, images, beliefs and
attitudes that we hold (our cognitive processes) and how this relates to the way we behave, as a way
of dealing with emotional problems.

An important advantage of cognitive behavioral therapy is that it tends to be short, taking
four to seven months for most emotional problems. Clients attend one session per week,
each session lasting approximately 50 minutes. During this time, the client and therapist
are working together to understand what the problems are and to develop a new strategy
for tackling them. CBT introduces them to a set of principles that they can apply whenever
they need to, and which will stand them in good stead throughout their lives.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can be thought of as a combination of psychotherapy and
behavioral therapy. Psychotherapy emphasizes the importance of the personal meaning
we place on things and how thinking patterns begin in childhood. Behavioral therapy
pays close attention to the relationship between our problems, our behavior and our
thoughts.

23.2 History of Cognitive Approach (CBT)

In the 1960s, Aaron T. Beck. psychiatrist, observed that during his analytical sessions, his patients
tended to have an internal dialogue going on in their minds, almost as if they were talking to
themselves. But they would only report a fraction of this kind of thinking to him.
Beck realized that the link between thoughts and feelings was very important. He invented the term
automatic thoughts to describe emotion-filled thoughts that might pop up in the mind.

23.3 Need for Cognitive Approach

Studies have shown that cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for depression. It is comparable
in effectiveness to antidepressants and interpersonal therapy or psychodynamic therapy. The
combination of cognitive therapy and antidepressants has been shown to be effective in managing
severe or chronic depression. Cognitive therapy has also proven beneficial Beck found that people
weren’t always fully aware of such thoughts, but could learn to identify and report them. If a person

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