Aaron Beck’s cognitive therapy was developed to treat depression and the concept of this type of therapy arises from the origin of depression. This therapy is basically focused on the thoughts that a person generates automatically, that is, what they say about other people, the perception they have about life and the difficulties that arise. As well as the feelings, emotions and behavior that he experiences over time and how these are linked to his thoughts and behaviors that he presents.
That is why when the thoughts that the person maintains are very negative, they affect their emotions and therefore also the way they behave. In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk about Aaron Beck’s cognitive therapy: what it is and what it consists of. Next, we are going to explain in detail everything related to this model of psychological therapy.
What is Beck cognitive therapy?
Cognitive therapy is a product of the ddiscoveries of psychiatrist Aaron Beck in 1967. This American psychiatrist states that the psychological disorders that a person may suffer arise from the erroneous thoughts they have and the incorrect way of interpreting what happens to them on a daily basis. So all these thoughts and interpretations that the person makes over time, by repeating themselves so much, finally become stereotyped and rigid ways about their own perception of what happens to them and their behavior.
- A good example of this would be a person who suffers from depression, which he has about himself and feels constant worry about what the future holds since he perceives it as hopeless. That is, this person focuses only on those negative aspects of your life and even exaggerates them and leaves aside the positive part, which is no longer taken fully into account.
In this type of therapy, it is considered that the erroneous way of thinking that people have is called “cognitive distortions”. These are those irrational thoughts that, when maintained over time, cause the person to convert them into personal beliefs and that generally, as most of them have been learned since childhood, act at an unconscious level.
Over time, the person, through their beliefs, gives a personal meaning to everything that happens to them; this is known as personal assumptions or cognitive schemes. These cognitive schemes or personal assumptions come to light on certain occasions, especially when the person experiences some change in their life, such as having a physical illness or some other type of event considered negative and that causes them to be triggered in turn. their erroneous thoughts or cognitive distortions. Finally, these types of cognitions or irrational thoughts, when maintained constantly, are called automatic thoughts.
What is cognitive therapy to treat depression?
Although cognitive therapy was initially developed to treat problems related to depression, designs were later developed based on the same theory that serve to treat other types of mental disorders and problems related to emotional distress. Discover here the bases of the .
Because this therapy proposes that a person’s behavior and emotions are based on their way of perceiving their world, it was concluded that the thoughts a person has are directly related to their emotions and behavior.
Beck’s cognitive triad
This was explained graphically through a triangular figure since this is how the fact that thoughts influence emotions, emotions influence behavior and vice versa is represented. That is, there really is a reciprocal influence between the 3 parts.
An example of this would be a patient who suffers from anxiety and says to himself (thought): “I’m sure I’m going to have an anxiety attack”, “I’m not going to be able to get over this”, “I’m never going to be able to feel good”. These types of thoughts, by constantly generating them, cause a reaction (emotion) this can be sadness and anguish, which will finally lead you to act in accordance with it and begin to physically experience a panic attack (conduct). In this way, over time, if the person becomes accustomed to always triggering the same type of thoughts, emotions and behaviors, they will become increasingly more resistant and will be more difficult to eradicate.
Aaron Beck Cognitive Therapy Treatment Plan
The objective of cognitive therapy is for the patient, together with the therapist, to create new experiences that allow them to weaken those that have been ingrained since childhood and that are negative for their way of feeling and acting. The fact of modify the patient’s belief It is not done through a debate, but rather objective evidence is really sought that evaluates their beliefs and from there a more positive reality is established through empirical data.
- For examplea person who has the erroneous belief and has developed a phobia of traveling by plane since he thinks that if he travels on a plane it will surely crash, it can be argued and proven that the plane is the safest means of transportation.
Principles of cognitive therapy and the cognitive triad
Now that you know what it is and what it consists of Aaron Beck Cognitive Therapywe are going to list all the principles on which this therapy is governed to treat depression and other mood disorders.
- Beck’s first principle or cognitive triad. It is based mainly on the dynamic formulation of the patient and the problems he presents in cognitive terms. That is, the patient’s current irrational thoughts are identified, as well as those actions that he carries out that cause problems. His ideas and belief system are also analyzed. All of this is intended for the patient to also be able to identify them and become aware of them so that they can later modify them and find new, more positive and adaptive responses.
- Second principle. This type of therapy requires that a good therapeutic alliance be established between the client and the therapist.
- Third principle. Emphasizes active participation and collaboration. It has been proven that patients who are more participatory during treatment have a 50% chance of finding the help they need and finally solving their problems.
- Fourth principle. This therapy is goal-oriented and focuses on certain problems. Therefore, from the first session, the problems that will be worked on are established with the patient.
- Fifth principle. Cognitive therapy is focused on the present. Therefore, it is explained to the patient what it means to act in the here and now and if he acts based on it. It is also explained to him how the thoughts he has related to the past or the future are affecting his emotional well-being in the present.
- Sixth principle. This therapy is educational since its objective is to teach the patient to be their own therapist by teaching them to identify all those negative automatic thoughts, their irrational beliefs and where they come from so that they finally learn to modify them for more adaptable and positive ones.
- Seventh principle. This type of therapy is usually limited over time. That is, it is intended that the patient already shows improvements from the fourth session and that by session fourteen he already has enough tools to alleviate the symptoms he presents. However, all cases are different.
- Eighth principle. The sessions in this type of therapy are structured. That is, they have a script and a logical order that must be followed to facilitate the patient’s practice of self-therapy and to allow the psychologist to pay attention to what is most important to the patient.
- Ninth principle. This therapy helps the patient identify as well as evaluate and analyze the dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors that matter.
- Tenth principle. It has many techniques that can be used to help the patient modify their thoughts, mood, and behavior.
Finally, it is important to comment that Aron Beck was not only a pioneer in cognitive therapy but also developed his own questionnaire to identify depression: .
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Oquendo, OFOM (2009, June). Cognitive psychology: a manual to share, have fun and learn. FUNLAM Electronic Journal of Social Psychology, 17(17), 2–7. Retrieved from http://www.funlam.edu.co/poiesis
- Martin, JMC (2003). The ABCs of Cognitive Therapy. Retrieved January 27, 2019, from https://www.fundacionforo.com/pdfs/archivo23.pdf
- Definition of Cognitive Therapy. (sf). Retrieved January 27, 2019, from https://www.cat-barcelona.com/pdf/filosofia/deftcog.pdf