Specialist Skills In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Coursework Example

SPECIALIST SKILLS IN COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY Introduction The client in this video is a young woman whose case of depression resulted from loss of employment. The state of unemployment has led the client in a situation of financial instability and the loss of self-esteem. She has lost her former social friends and feels diminished in the society. Her numerous efforts to find another job have remained unsuccessful. The client feels that she lacks the necessary skills that could fit her into gainful employment. The client requires professional help to adjust to alternative patterns of thought that would lessen the impact of her situation on her mind and positively transform her behavior. Rational for cognitive model The cognitive model was adopted in the intervention of the client’s case of depression. In principle, the cognitive model, as developed by Aaron Beck, helps clients to overcome specific challenges by altering their thought patterns, behavior, and emotions. At the functional analysis stage, the model allows the therapist to guide the client in recognizing the cognitive distortion of depression as manageable and avoidable. The cognitive model involves an identification of automatic negative patterns of thought that trigger depression in order to replace them with alternative thought patterns, which are positive. In this particular case, the objective is to replace the client’s negative thoughts of depression with more positive thoughts. Analysis of Session The application of the cognitive model in the case of the depressed client involved a range of effective skills that effectively helped in reversing the directions of though as a starting point of achieving a positive outlook on life and her self-worth. The skills include problem listing and prioritizing, setting homework, goal setting, use of thought record, Socratic questioning, and guided discovery. Other skills include identifying and planning of cognitive distortions, eliciting, evaluating, and challenging thoughts, assumptions, and logical errors. Action planning, reviewing, and evaluation are also key skills. The therapist employed the skills of Socratic questioning to allow the client to discover the dimensions of depression. Through such questioning, it was possible for the client to adjust to the reality of the challenge in a way that allowed her to prepare her internal strengths for positive adjustment. The use of such skills were consistent with the cognitive model in ways that allowed the client to adjust positively to the situation. The client was able to recognize the reality of depression from multiple angles. She could realize that she could still be happy by adopting alternative lifestyles other than the kind of life she had got accustomed to. For instance, the client was made to realize that socialization and a positive adjustment with the family was useful for her happiness and the reclamation of self-esteem. The skill of problem listing and prioritizing was achieved at the point when the client was asked to relate the origin of her depression. In her response, the client attached the state of joblessness as her primary concern. In her response, she demonstrated a sense of loss and a desperate desire to connect with her lost status. She connects a state of happiness and self-worth to financial stability. As such, she could not imagine of any alternative source of happiness and self-esteem. Her self-esteem was therefore a consequence of a negative pattern of thought arising out of her lost status in the society and financial instability. The skill of problem listing is fundamental in the process of awakening the client to the nature of challenge facing her. The effectiveness of the approach is that the therapist only acted as a guide and facilitator of the entire session (Wilding & Milne, 2010). This approach enabled the client to undergo a process of self-discovery in order to comprehend the exact dimension of the problem and the internal capacity for self-redemption. In a sense, the entire program was a catharsis that enabled the client to launch into a spontaneous overflow of feelings in ways that helped the therapist to explore the problem and make accurate diagnosis that helped in determining the next cause of action. The method of making the client to be an active participant in the solution is important in the sense that it achieves more authentic and sustainable outcomes (Wilding & Milne, 2010). The cognitive model provides a support mechanism that assists the therapist in the process of developing a more reliable and dependable system that is based on an assessment of the external qualities as a way of formulating the most appropriate solution. Comparative approaches of cognitive therapies have shown that active clients produce higher levels of positive outcomes as compared to passive clients. The therapist adopted the method of evaluating the progress of the therapy on the individual in order to help her in attaining some level of confidence that would be necessary in redeeming her from the state of depression. Between the sessions, the therapist carried out some specific questions that helped in the determination of the state of mind of the client. These processes of evaluation are important in the sense they helped determine the levels of progress reached by the individual with regard to resolving the challenge of depression (Wilding & Milne, 2010;. This element of active involvement enabled the client to adopt the lead in ways that are consistent with the desired outcome in the individual. Assessing the outcome of this therapy could involve opinion of the client at the final stage of the interview regarding the level of effectiveness. At the beginning of the session, the client appeared less confident about life. Her outward expression were a manifestation of the depression that afflicted her personality. At the end of the session, the client seemed more confident about life. She had adopted a positive attitude towards life. Moreover, the client made various suggestions regarding the manner in which she intended to mend the situation of depression, which afflicted her life. From this account, it is possible to tell that some of the issues that were suggested as solutions were created through the combined efforts of the therapist and the client. The method adopted was effective in settling some of the various issues and concerns that were central to the client’s situation. The use of the cognitive model in the case of the client in question was effective in settling the challenge of depression through set objectives. The approach was structured in a manner that progressed through a definite sequence that led to a positive resolution at the very end. The preliminary parts of the therapy involved the determination of the cause of the problem. In this manner, solutions were sought through the application of interrogative and cathartic processes that involved a range of methods and strategies of opening up the client’s mind to scrutiny. The behavior of the client was triggered by an occurrence and supported by some external factors that affected her composure and self-esteem. The therapy involved the configuration of the mind of the client in a way that was consistent with the objectives of the therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapies are usually results-oriented (ODonohue & Fisher, 2008; Hofmann, 2012). The intervention of the therapy must be commensurate with the goals of the process (Nelson, 1997, p. 41). In such a manner, the outcome anticipated usually aligns with the specifics of the problem. It is important to determine the level of effectiveness of a program through the assessment of the state of the client between the stages (Wilding & Milne, 2010; Ciarrochi & Bailey, 2008). One of the key features of cognitive behavioral therapy is that it is designed to assist the client to rediscover their own strengths from a range of possibilities (Rimondini, 2011, p. 72). It is based on a method that emphasizes on the changing of the thought patterns towards a certain pattern that connects positively with the desired solutions. Such an approach makes it possible for the therapist to access the state of mind of the client in order to develop the most appropriate intervention strategy (Hall & Iqbal, 2010, p. 54). In this video, the client expressed a determination to reconnect with her positive side of life by reexamining her priorities and interests. Conclusion The use of cognitive model on the treatment of the client suffering from depression proved effective due to the application of various cbt skills. The skills used comprised writing of the problem list, the use of assignments, asking of the Socratic questions and a range of other skills that were necessary in changing the patterns of thought of the client towards a more positive approach. Changing of the thought patterns was appropriate in order to make it possible for the client to adopt alternative patterns of thought. At the end of the therapy, the client was able to adjust positively to the situation in ways that made possible for her to choose alternative behaviors such as keeping of pets and relating better with the family members in order to overcome the problem of depression. Works Cited Ciarrochi, J, & Bailey, A 2008, A CBT-practitioners guide to ACT: how to bridge the gap between cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy, New Harbinger Publications, Oakland. Hall, K., & Iqbal, F 2010, The problem with cognitive behavioural therapy, Kamac, London. Hofmann, S, G 2012, An introduction to modern CBT: psychological solutions to mental health problems, Wiley-Blackwell, Malden. Nelson, H, E 1997, Cognitive behavioural therapy with schizophrenia: a practice manual. S. Thornes, Cheltenham, U.K. ODonohue, W, T, & Fisher, J, E 2008, Cognitive behavior therapy applying empirically supported techniques in your practice, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken. Rimondini, M 2011, Communication in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Springer, New York. Wilding, C, & Milne, A 2010, Cognitive behavioural therapy, Teach Yourself, London. Read More