Jamela Zoe D.

Mangudadatu ENG 501M

First Draft

Extended Definition of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapy method that helps clients rethink

and evaluate their thoughts and emotions that influence behavior and one of the most used ap-

proaches in counseling therapies today.

The history of CBT can be traced way back in the 1960s and was founded by Dr. Aaron

T. Beck. He used to be a follower of Freudian psychoanalysis but later on left his company with

Freud due to different views in psychotherapy. It started when Beck attempted to ratify Freud's

theory of depression but his findings were different from that of Freud which led him to part ways

with him. As an outcome, Beck received a lot of critiques in the psychiatric community for many

years. However, Beck (1963, 1964, 1967) was able to develop an approach that gained recognition

known as cognitive therapy (CT) and was initially used as a mode of treatment for depression.

Later on, it was extended to treat other mental health disorders such as anxiety, eating disorders,

mood swings, post-traumatic disorders, and substance abuse. The basic theory of CT holds that to

understand the nature of an emotional episode or disturbance it is essential to focus on the cognitive

content of an individual's reaction to the upsetting event or stream of thoughts (DeRubeis & Beck,
1988). Beck (1979) believes that people's cognitions are based on attitudes or assumptions devel-

oped from previous experiences and that disorders are maintained by negative attitudes and dis-

torted thinking. Examples of systematic errors in reasoning that lead to faulty thinking and mis-

conceptions, which are termed cognitive distortions may include arbitrary inferences, selective

abstraction, overgeneralization, magnification and minimization, personalization, labeling, and di-

chotomous thinkings (Beck & Weishaar, 2000; Dattilio & Freeman, 1992).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is one of the most evidence-based types of therapy because

of its treatment that focus on highly specific goals and that results are easily measured. Compared

to psychoanalytic approaches that encourage open-ended self-exploration, CBT is very well suited

to clients that are more into a structured and focused approach wherein the therapist takes a guiding

role. CBT is a short-term method of psychotherapy. According to Dattilio, it focuses on the here-

and-now, regardless of the diagnosis of the client. The past may play a role when the therapist

wants to understand how and when certain core beliefs started. Furthermore, the goal is to be able

to help the client rethink his or her negative thoughts or behavioral patterns. In addition, CBT aims

to reduce distress by evaluating them and employing strategies to challenge and overcome them

and developing adaptive cognitions by teaching the clients specific learning experiences such as

(1) monitoring his negative, automatic thoughts (cognitions); (2) recognizing the connections be-

tween cognition, affect, and behavior; (3) examining the evidence for and against his distorted

automatic thoughts; (4) substituting more reality-oriented interpretations for these biased cogni-

tions; and (5) learning to identify and alter the dysfunctional beliefs which predispose him to dis-

torted experiences (Beck, et al., 1979). For the therapy to work the client must work together with
the counselor or therapist. In addition to this, the therapy relies on action-oriented solutions that

involve giving home-works.

Several therapeutic approaches fall under CBT that is used by mental health professionals

today. Examples may include: Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT): This type of CBT

is focused on identifying irrational beliefs and disputing them; Another one would be Multimodal

Therapy: this therapy implies that mental health issues must be treated by addressing seven mo-

dalities which are behavior, affect, sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal factors and

drug/biological considerations (Lazarus, 2004); and last but not the least, Dialectical Behavior

Therapy (DBT): this type of approach addresses client's thinking patterns and employs strategies

such as regulating emotions and mindfulness. While each approach is different on its own, each

focuses on addressing underlying factors and thought patterns that may contribute to distress.

Despite all the recognition and use of CBT, it did receive several criticisms. Gaudiano

(2008) states that even though some clients identify certain thoughts that are not healthy, simply

knowing these thoughts does not make it easy to adapt to them. CBT tends to focus more on the

here-and-now and barely focuses on the underlying unconscious as much as the psychoanalytic

approaches. However, it is important to know that CBT does not just identify these thinking pat-

terns but it also focuses on several strategies that could help the client adapt and overcome these

thinking. These strategies may include journaling, role-playing, relaxation techniques, and mental

distractions (Tsitsas, 2014). Many of these techniques are incorporated with other psychothera-
peutic approaches such as behavioral, solution-focused, and psychodynamic techniques. Further-

more, what makes CBT different and distinct from all other approaches are the underlying evi-

dence and theoretical perspectives.

References:
Beck, A. T. (1963). Thinking and depression: 1. Idiosyncratic content and cognitive distortions.
Archives of General Psychiatry, 9, 324–333.
Beck, A. T. (1964). Thinking and depression: 2. Theory and therapy. Archives of General Psychi-
atry, 10, 561–571.

Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression: Clinical, experimental, and theoretical aspects. New York: Hoe-
ber. (Republished as Depression: Causes and treatment. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1972).

Beck, A. T., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of anxiety and phobic disorders. Philadelphia:
Center for Cognitive Therapy.

Beck A.T., Weishaar M. (1989) Cognitive Therapy. In: Freeman A., Simon K.M.,

Beck, A. T., and Weishaar, M. 2000. "Cognitive therapy". In Current psychotherapies, (6th ed.,
Edited by Corsini, R. J., and Wedding, D. 241–272. Itasca, IL: Peacock. [Google Scholar]
Beutler L.E., Arkowitz H. (eds) Comprehensive Handbook of Cognitive Therapy. Springer, New
York, NY

Dattilio F.M., Freeman A. (1992) Introduction to Cognitive Therapy. In: Freeman A., Dattilio F.M.
(eds) Comprehensive Casebook of Cognitive Therapy. Springer, Boston, MA

DeRubeis, R. J., & Beck, A. T. (1988). Cognitive therapy. In K. S. Dobson, (Ed.), Handbook of
cognitive-behavioral therapies (pp. 273-306). New York: Guilford Press.

Lazarus AA, Abramovitz A. A multimodal behavioral approach to performance anxiety. J Clin

Martin, B. (2019). In-Depth: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Psych Central. Retrieved on Novem-
ber 22, 2019, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/in-depth-cognitive-behavioral-therapy/

Tsitsas GD, Paschali AA. Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Applied to a Social Anxiety Disorder and
a Specific Phobia, Case Study. Health Psychol Res. 2014;2(3):1603. DOI:10.4081/hpr.2014.1603
Gaudiano BA. Cognitive-behavioral therapies: achievements and challenges. Evid Based Ment
Health. 2008;11(1):5-7. https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmh.11.1.5

Additional Reading:
Beck, J. S. Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond. New York, NY: The Guilford Press;
2011.