Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Techniques

The cognitive behavior therapy finds application in the treatment of various disorders related to mood, personality, anxiety, substance abuse, etc. that are associated with mental health. The 'Aaron Beck Cognitive Behavior Therapy' is one such therapeutic approach used in dealing with problems like these. Let us understand more about the different techniques being used in sorting out the above mentioned mental illnesses and disorders.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
It is a therapy which takes a psycho therapeutic approach to solve problems related to behavior, dysfunctional emotions and cognitions through a systematic and goal-oriented procedure. The idea around which CBT techniques have evolved is that no external factors, but the inherent ones are responsible for behavior we exhibit and feelings experienced by us. The cognitive behavioral therapy techniques are executed in a time bound manner and the average number of sessions required to complete this therapy is 16.

CBT Techniques

The cognitive behavioral therapy techniques are an interesting set of exercises that help modify a person's behavioral patterns. The behavioral patterns are modified in order to bring about positive changes in the personality. The different CBT techniques are dealt in the following paragraphs one-by-one.

Cognitive Rehearsal: In this technique, the patient is asked to recall a problematic situation of the past. The therapist and patient both work together to find out a solution for the problem or a way in which the difficult situation, if it occurs in the future can be sorted out. The therapist asks the patient to rehearse positive thoughts cognitively in order to make appropriate changes to the latter's thought processes. Power of imagination proves to be of great use in such exercises.

Validity Testing: It is one of the cognitive behavioral therapy techniques in which the therapist tests validity of beliefs/thoughts of the patient. The patient is allowed to defend his viewpoint by means of an objective evidence. The faulty nature or invalidity of the beliefs of the patient is exposed if he/she is unable to produce any kind of objective evidence.

Writing in a Journal: It is the practice of maintaining a diary to keep an account of situations that arise in day-to-day life. Thoughts that are associated with these situations and the behavior exhibited in response to them are also mentioned in the diary. The therapist and patient together review the matter written in the journal and find out maladaptive thought pattern. The discussion that takes place between them proves to be useful in finding different ways in which behavior of the patient gets affected.

Guided Discovery: The objective or purpose behind using this technique is that of helping patients by enabling them to understand their cognitive distortions. Patients are made aware of and assisted by therapists in understanding how they process information. The activity of understanding how information is processed allows patients to alter the same (information processing) if required. Basically, the patient's perception of the world undergoes great change and he/she sees things in a different way than earlier. This change in perception allows the patient to modify his/her behavior in a better manner.

Modeling: It is one of the cognitive therapy techniques in which therapists perform role-playing exercises aimed at responding in a way that is helpful to overcome difficult situations. The patient makes use of this behavior of the therapist as a model in order to solve problems he/she comes across.

Homework: The homework is actually a set of assignments given by therapists to patients. The patient may have to take notes during sessions with therapists, review audiotapes of a particular session or read articles/books related to the therapy.

Aversive Conditioning: Amongst the different CBT techniques used by therapists, aversive conditioning technique makes use of dissuasion so as to lessen the appeal of a maladaptive behavior. The patient while being engaged in a particular behavior or thought for which he has to be treated, is exposed to an unpleasant stimulus. Thus, the unpleasant stimulus gets associated with these thoughts/behavior and then the patient exhibits an aversive behavior towards them.

Systematic Positive Reinforcement: The systematic positive reinforcement is one of the techniques of CBT therapy in which certain (positive) behavior of a person are rewarded with positive reinforcement. A reward system is established for the reinforcement of certain positive behavior. Just like positive reinforcement proves to be helpful in encouraging a particular behavior, withholding the reinforcement deliberately also is instrumental in eradicating a maladaptive behavior.

CBT techniques described in the above article are useful from the point of view of solving many problems that occur from maladaptive thoughts and behavior. Therapists can use these cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to cure most of the problems related to psychology in a time-bound manner.