Cognitive-Behavioral and Rational-Emotive Therapy

Theory

1. Individuals and families respond to cognitive representations of events rather than the events themselves.
2. Individuals and families learn by cognitive mapping.
3. Individual and family cognitions generate dysfunction in emotional and behavioral responses.
4. Individual and family cognitions can be identified, evaluated and in some cases, modified to facilitate more adaptive and functional emotional and behavioral responses.
5. Cognitive and behavioral techniques can be combined to facilitate the greatest change.

Treatment Goals

1. The goal of CBT is to identify, evaluate and modify thoughts, feelings and behaviors that lead to dysfunction and maladaptive emotional and behavioral responses to external and internal events.
2. Additionally, CBT techniques will increase problem solving and adaptive emotional and behavioral responses to stressors and threats.

Methods

1. Clinician provides education about CBT and how to utilize these skills.
2. Clinician works with individual or family to identify and clarify cognitive associations.
3. Clinician works with individual or family to challenge and test the validity of and consequences of the cognitive associations.
4. Clinician works with individual or family to create new rational alternatives and mapping.
5. Clinician provides homework and follow-up to facilitate practice.
6. Individual or family demonstrates the use of CBT skills in session.
7. Clinician terminates treatment after successful demonstration of CBT skills and sets treatment follow-up and monitoring.

Techniques

1. Learn cognitive structure.
2. Learn basic cognitive distortions.
3. Identify automatic thoughts.
4. Identify intermediate beliefs.
5. Identify resulting emotional responses.
6. Identify resulting behavioral responses.
7. Evaluate and challenge (Socratic questioning) intermediate beliefs and automatic thoughts.
8. Label cognitive distortions and dysfunctional thoughts.
9. Identify and evaluate new adaptive intermediate beliefs and thoughts.
10. Cognitive rehearsal.
11. Behavioral rehearsal.

Theorists

1. Aaron Beck
2. Albert Ellis