Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Essay

Albert Ellis, an important contributor to the ideas behind cognitive-behavioral therapy and the founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), discovered that people’s beliefs strongly affected their emotional functioning. In particular certain irrational beliefs made people feel depressed, anxious or angry and led to self-defeating behaviors. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be thought of as a combination of psychotherapy and behavioral therapy. Psychotherapy emphasizes the importance of the personal meaning we place on things and how thinking patterns begin in childhood. Behavioral therapy pays close attention to the relationship between our problems, our behavior and our thoughts. A good example of this would be in a therapy session

He originally called it non-directive, because he felt that the therapist should not lead the client, but rather be there for the client while the client directs the progress of the therapy. So, he changed the name to client-centered. Rogers identified six conditions that are required for success in client centered therapy: There is psychological contact (a relationship) between the client and the therapists. The client is emotionally upset, in a state of incongruence. The counselor is genuine and aware of their own feelings. The counselor has unconditional positive regard for the client. The counselor has empathic understanding of the client and his or her internal frame of reference and looks to communicate this experience with the client. The client recognizes that the counselor has unconditional positive regard for him or her and an understanding of the difficulties s/he is

Rogers worked extensively with people with schizophrenia later in his career. His therapy has also been applied to persons suffering from depression, anxiety, alcohol disorders, cognitive dysfunction, and personality disorders. Some therapists argue that person-centered therapy is not effective with non-verbal or poorly educated individuals; others maintain that it can be successfully adapted to any type of person. The person-centered approach can be used in individual, group, or family therapy. With young children, it is frequently employed as play therapy. There are no strict guidelines regarding the length or frequency of person-centered therapy. Generally, therapists adhere to a one-hour session once per week. True to the spirit of person-centered therapy, however, scheduling may be adjusted according to the client's expressed needs. The client also decides when to terminate therapy. Termination usually occurs when he or she feels able to better cope with life's