Scribd
Upload
142 views12 pages

Cognitive Therapy and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: The Power of Believing

Cognitive therapy and rational emotive behavior therapy are based on the theory that cognitive states like schemas and beliefs drive emotions and behaviors. Maladaptive schemas that are irrational can lead to psychological distress, while adaptive schemas promote well-being. Therapists help clients identify dysfunctional thoughts and replace them with more rational self-enhancing thoughts through techniques like cognitive restructuring. While effective, cognitive therapy requires discipline from therapists and may be criticized for not adequately considering culture.

Uploaded by

Johnson Joseph
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
142 views12 pages

Cognitive Therapy and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: The Power of Believing

Cognitive therapy and rational emotive behavior therapy are based on the theory that cognitive states like schemas and beliefs drive emotions and behaviors. Maladaptive schemas that are irrational can lead to psychological distress, while adaptive schemas promote well-being. Therapists help clients identify dysfunctional thoughts and replace them with more rational self-enhancing thoughts through techniques like cognitive restructuring. While effective, cognitive therapy requires discipline from therapists and may be criticized for not adequately considering culture.

Uploaded by

Johnson Joseph
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

Cognitive Therapy and Rational

Emotive Behavior Therapy

The power of believing


Theory of Personality
(REBT terminology in parentheses)

 Cognitive states are the fundamental component of


personality

 Emotions and behaviors are based on schemas


(beliefs)

 Schemas are cognitive perceptions, interpretations,


and assumptions that individuals use to help organize
and make sense of their experience
 Schemas can either be functional or dysfunctional (irrational) and can
compete with each other
 Dysfunctional schemas predispose people to psychological distress.
The impact of our thoughts

So, say you


have a deadline
at work:
Nature of Maladjustment
 Maladjustment (i.e., maladaptive, self-defeating behaviors) stems
from irrational beliefs and distorted cognitions (next 2 slides).
 Maladaptive cognitions come from:
 Early (and earlier!) experiences with behavior and its consequences
 Selective attention
 Misperception, misunderstanding
 Maladaptive focusing
 Repertory deficiencies

 Cognitive Therapy and REBT differ in their emphasis on specific


cognitive content
 REBT: “musts”, “shoulds”, and other imperatives underlie all disorders.
 CBT: Cognitive profiles of depression, anxiety, and panic are different
and require different techniques
 Adaptive behaviors come from self-enhancing thoughts.
 Clients can be taught to shift from maladaptive (irrational) thoughts
to self-enhancing thoughts.
12 (slightly modified) Irrational Ideas
That Cause and Sustain Neurosis, 1-6
Irrational Beliefs Alternative Beliefs
1. I must have love/approval from those 1. Love/approval from any particular
significant to me and must avoid person is nice but not necessary
disapproval from any source.
2. Unfailing success and competence is
2. To be worthwhile as a person I must unrealistic and I accept myself as a person,
succeed at everything and make no separate from my performance
mistakes.
3. People should always do the right 3. People unfortunately sometimes do bad
thing. When they behave obnoxiously, things, but getting upset won't change that
unfairly or selfishly, they must be
blamed and punished. 4. Things won’t always be the way I want.
It's disappointing, but there is no need to
4. Things must be the way I want them catastrophize
to be - otherwise life will be intolerable.
5. My unhappiness is caused by things 5. Many external factors are outside my
outside my control - so there is little I control, but it is my thoughts which cause
can do to feel better. my feelings

6. I must worry about things that could 6. Worrying about things that might go
be dangerous, unpleasant or scary - wrong won't stop them happening. It will,
otherwise they might happen. though, ensure I get upset right now!
12 (slightly modified) Irrational Ideas
That Cause and Sustain Neurosis, 7-12
7. I can be happier by avoiding life's difficulties, unpleasantries, and
responsibilities.

8. I need to be taken care of by someone stronger than me.

9. Events in my past are the cause of my problems - and they continue to


influence my feelings and behaviors now.

10. I should become upset when other people have problems and feel unhappy
when they're sad.

11. I should not have to feel discomfort and pain - I can't stand them and must
avoid them at all costs.

12. Every problem should have an ideal solution, and it is intolerable when one
can't be found.
Cognitive Distortions
 Arbitrary inference: Drawing a conclusion without supporting
evidence or despite contradictory evidence (e.g., no one decent
would want to date me)
 Selective Abstraction: Drawing conclusion based on detail taken
out of context (e.g., jealous when girlfriend stands close to another
man)
 Overgeneralization: Drawing a general conclusion based on one or
a few isolated incidents (e.g., all men are jerks) [video clip]
 Magnification/Minimization: Seeing something as much more or
much less significant than it really is [video clip: start 1:55]
 Personalization: Attributing external events to self without evidence
of supporting connection
 Dichotomous thinking: Categorizing experiences into one of two
extremes (success or failure)
The (hypothetical) case of Alan
Alan is a young man who had always tended to doubt himself. Alan imagined
that other people did not like him and that they were only friendly because
they pitied him. One day, a friend passed him in the street without returning
his greeting - to which Alan reacted negatively. Here is the event, Alan’s
beliefs, and his reaction, put into the ABC format

A. Antecedent: Friend passed me in the street without speaking to me.

B. Beliefs about A.:

1. He’s ignoring me. He doesn’t like me.


2. I could end up without friends for ever.
3. That would be terrible.
4. For me to be happy and feel worthwhile, people must like me.
5. I’m unacceptable as a friend - so I must be worthless as a person.

C. Consequence:

Feelings: worthless, depressed.


Behaviors: begins (continues) to avoid other people.
Same situation, different person…

A. Antecedent: Friend passed me in the street without speaking to me.

B. Beliefs about A.:

1. He didn’t ignore me deliberately. He may not have seen me.


2. He might have had something on his mind.
3. I’d like to help if I can.

C. Consequence
Feelings: Concerned.
Behaviors: Goes to visit friend to see how he is.
Strategies for Helping Clients
 Collaborative empiricism, Socratic dialogue, and guided
discovery (REBT: confrontation)
 Cognitive Modeling: The therapist models with self-talk
cognitions that the client will incorporate.
 Covert Modeling: A client imagines engaging in the desired
behaviors he or she wants to learn or adopt.
 Thought Stopping: Interruption of unwanted thoughts when they
occur by shouting “stop” whenever the unwanted thought pops
into consciousness. [Example: the struggle switch]
 Cognitive Restructuring: Replacement of irrational, maladaptive
thoughts with rational and adaptive ones.
 Decatastrophizing
 Reattribution [video clip]
 Redefining/reframing
 Decentering
 Stress Inoculation: Teaching clients both cognitive and physical
skills for coping with future stressful and distressing situations.
Obstacles to change

Personal change means giving up some old habits of


thinking and behaving and 'safe’ ways of approaching
life. Change involves risk, which can increase stress
and emotional pain - temporarily. In other words, people
may well feel worse before they feel better.

Ironically, one of the reasons they may feel worse is


because they have maladaptive beliefs about change
and growth:
 “I can’t stand it”
 “Change should happen naturally; I shouldn’t have to work at it”
 “There is a faster/easier way to change”
 “Choosing how I feel makes me fake”
 “Choosing how I feel will make me cold and unemotional”
Disadvantages of Cognitive Therapy

 Harshly judged by feminists and multiculturalists


because it implicitly mirrors masculine and Euro-
American worldviews and does not adequately take
culture (and its biases) into consideration.

 The therapist needs to not only understand cognitive


techniques but also have a vast understanding of
behavioral and learning theories.

 The therapist needs to have strong discipline and


there is less tolerance for error.

Albert Ellis demonstration with Gloria

You might also like