Principles of cognitive behavioral psychology and psychotherapy. What happens during the session

Can be carried out by different directions. One of the most relevant and developing currents today is cognitive- behavior therapy.

This method is based on the acceptance that the causes of problems must be sought in oneself, in one’s own thoughts and in the assessment of others, as well as oneself. Emotional reactions negative character appear as a response to a certain situation only because in the deep consciousness of a person there is a certain internal assessment. To solve a problem, you will need to change your assessment of a difficult situation.

Differences between behavior therapy and other areas of psychology

Any type of psychotherapy is aimed at changing the patient's personality. This is deep work that requires a lot of dedication from the psychotherapist. There are a large number of areas of psychotherapy, each of which has its own characteristics:

Gestalt therapy puts the patient’s “I” in the first place, calling on him to satisfy his needs and desires at the moment they arise by any socially acceptable means. It is believed that various kinds psychological problems arise in a person when he does not follow his desires, but tries to live up to the ideal imposed on him by the people around him;

Psychoanalysis evaluates the patient’s dreams, as well as the associations that various objects, people and situations evoke;

Art therapy allows you to resolve psychological problems through the influence of artistic methods. The patient is offered to draw, sculpt, etc.

There are also other directions, but only behavioral therapy will allow a person to discover irrational logic and warnings in the deep consciousness.

align="justify">Internal beliefs are questioned and given a new assessment. To achieve such results, the psychotherapist asks the patient a lot various issues, some of them are tricky, others are funny or just idiotic.

As a result of cognitive behavioral therapy, a psychologist's patient gets the opportunity to look at his internal beliefs from the outside and understand the absurdity of some of them. Revising your assessment of the world around you, people and yourself allows you to get rid of such psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety, and increase self-esteem and self-confidence.

Methods used in cognitive behavioral psychotherapy

All therapy sessions using this method take place in the form of a conversation, during which the patient is asked to conduct experiments and answer a number of questions. This can be individual therapy or group sessions, which are more like training aimed at improving psychological state patient now and in the future.

Cognitive behavioral therapy mental disorders carried out using the following methods:

1. Cognitive restructuring can reduce the patient's anxiety. This is achieved by assessing your fears and reality. The psychotherapist's client independently fills out a table that includes the situation that frightens him. Then he is asked to predict several worst options developments of events. When this stage is completed, it is necessary to recall similar situations from the past and describe their real outcome. For greater clarity, fears are assigned a probability coefficient as a percentage, after which the patient can see that his worst fears were not justified.

2. Socratic (Socratic) dialogue can be used not only during psychotherapy, but also in any other conversation. This method was used by Socrates during classes with his students. First you need to agree with your opponent, then question his rightness, and then argue your thoughts. Skillful use of this method allows you to resolve any controversial situation.

3. The cognitive continuum allows you to work with polar thinking. Relatively speaking, patients are sure that there is only white and black, but during the session it turns out that there are many shades of gray.

4. ABC analysis. Every situation that happens to us in life (A) leads to the emergence of thoughts and internal conversation(IN). Depending on internal beliefs, reaction (C) occurs. In the A→B→C scheme, our beliefs play the main role; the thoughts that arise in response to a situation, leading to negative or positive emotions, depend on them.

Also, psychotherapists who practice the cognitive-behavioral method of correcting mental disorders use other methods in their work. This direction It is actively developing, new works, developments and techniques are appearing.

Depression, anxiety, phobias and others mental disorders quite difficult to cure traditional methods forever.

Drug treatment only relieves symptoms, not allowing a person to become completely mentally healthy. Psychoanalysis may have an effect, but to obtain sustainable results it will take years (from 5 to 10).

Cognitive-behavioral direction in therapy is young, but really working for healing with a form of psychotherapy. It allows people to short time(up to 1 year) get rid of despondency and stress by replacing destructive patterns of thinking and behavior with constructive ones.

What is human cognitive development? Find out about this from ours.

Concept

Cognitive methods in psychotherapy work with the patient's thinking model.

The goal of cognitive therapy is awareness and correction of destructive patterns (mental schemes).

The result of treatment is a complete or partial (at the request of the patient) personal and social adaptation of a person.

People faced with unusual or painful events in different periods life, often react negatively, creating tension in the body and brain centers responsible for receiving and processing information. This releases hormones into the blood that cause suffering and mental pain.

In the future, such a thinking pattern is reinforced by repetition of situations, which leads to. A person ceases to live in peace with himself and the world around him, creating your own hell.

Cognitive therapy teaches you to react more calmly and relaxed to inevitable changes in life, turning them into a positive direction with creative and calm thoughts.

Advantage of the method- work in the present tense, without focusing on:

events in the past;
influence of parents and other close people;
feelings of guilt and regret about lost opportunities.

Cognitive therapy allows take fate into your own hands, freeing yourself from harmful addictions and unwanted influence of others.

For successful treatment It is advisable to combine this method with behavioral, that is, behavioral.

What is cognitive therapy and how does it work? Find out about it in the video:

Cognitive-behavioral approach

Cognitive behavioral therapy works with the patient in a comprehensive manner, combining the creation of constructive mental attitudes with new behaviors and habits.

This means that every new mental attitude must be supported by specific action.

This approach also allows us to identify destructive patterns of behavior, replacing them with healthy or safe for the body.

Cognitive, behavioral and combination therapy can be used both under the supervision of a specialist and independently. But still, at the very beginning of the journey, it is advisable to consult with a professional to develop the right treatment strategy.

Areas of application

The cognitive approach can be applied to all people who feel unhappy, unsuccessful, unattractive, unsure of themselves etc.

An attack of self-torture can happen to anyone. Cognitive therapy in this case can reveal the thinking pattern that served as the trigger for creating bad mood, replacing it with a healthy one.

This approach is also used for the treatment of the following mental disorders:

Cognitive therapy can remove difficulties in relationships with family and friends, as well as teach how to establish and maintain new connections, including with the opposite sex.

What does cognitive science study? find out right now.

Aaron Beck's opinion

American psychotherapist Aaron Temkin Beck (Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania) is the author of cognitive psychotherapy. He specializes in treating depressive states, including with suicidal tendencies.

The basis of the approach of A.T. Beck took the term (the process of processing information by consciousness).

The decisive factor in cognitive therapy is the correct processing of information, as a result of which an adequate behavioral program is consolidated in a person.

Patient undergoing treatment according to Beck must change the way I look at myself, your life situation and tasks. In this case, you need to go through three stages:

admit your right to make mistakes;
abandon erroneous ideas and worldviews;
correct thought patterns (replace inadequate ones with adequate ones).

A.T. Beck believes that only correcting faulty thinking patterns can create life with more high level self-realization.

The creator of cognitive therapy himself effectively applied its techniques to himself when, after successfully curing patients, his income level significantly decreased.

The patients recovered quickly without relapses, getting back to health and happy life , which adversely affected the doctor’s bank account.

After analyzing thinking and correcting it, the situation changed for the better. Cognitive therapy suddenly became fashionable, and its creator was asked to write a series of books for a wide range of users.

Aaron Beck: goals and objectives of cognitive psychotherapy. Practical examples in this video:

Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy

After this work, methods, techniques and exercises of cognitive behavioral therapy are used that cause positive changes in a person's life.

Methods

Methods in psychotherapy are ways to achieve a goal.

In the cognitive behavioral approach these include:

Removing (erasing) thoughts that destroy fate(“I won’t succeed”, “I’m a loser”, etc.).
Creating an adequate worldview(“I’ll do it. If it doesn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world,” etc.).

When creating new thought forms it is necessary look at problems realistically. This means that they may not resolve as planned. This fact should also be calmly accepted in advance.

Reviewing painful past experiences and assessing the adequacy of their perception.
Consolidating new thought forms with actions (practice of communicating with people for a sociopath, good nutrition- for anorexic, etc.).

The methods of this type of therapy are used to solve real problems in the present tense. An excursion into the past is necessary only to create an adequate assessment of the situation in order to creation healthy model thinking and behavior.

More details about the methods of cognitive behavioral therapy can be found in the book by E. Chesser, V. Meyer, “Methods of Behavioral Therapy.”

Technicians

A distinctive feature of cognitive behavioral therapy is the need active participation patient in your healing.

The patient must understand that his suffering is created by incorrect thoughts and behavioral reactions. It is possible to become happy by replacing them with adequate thought forms. To do this you need to do next row technician.

You can learn about what the cognitive sphere of personality is from ours.

Diary

This technique will allow you to track the most frequently repeated phrases that create problems in your life.

Identifying and recording destructive thoughts when solving any problem or task.
Checking a destructive attitude with a specific action.

For example, if the patient claims that “he won’t succeed,” then he should do what he can and write it down in a diary. Next day recommended perform a more complex action.

Why keep a diary? Find out from the video:

Catharsis

In this case, the patient needs to allow himself to express feelings that he previously forbade himself, considering them bad or unworthy.

For example, cry, express aggression(in relation to a pillow, mattress), etc.

Visualization

Imagine that the problem has already been solved and remember emotions, which appeared at the same time.

The techniques of the described approach are discussed in detail in the books:

Judith Beck, Cognitive Therapy. Complete Guide"
Ryan McMullin "Cognitive Therapy Workshop"

Methods of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy:

Cognitive dissonance - what is it? in simple words? is on our website.

Exercises to do on your own

To correct your thinking, behavior and solve problems that seem insoluble, you don’t have to immediately turn to a professional. You can try the following exercises first:

The exercises are discussed in great detail in the book. S. Kharitonova"Manual of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy."

Also, when treating depression and other mental disorders, it is advisable to master several relaxation exercises, using auto-training techniques and breathing exercises.

Definition of Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy or cognitive behavioral psychotherapy is one of the areas of science that is based on the assumption that the causes of mental disorders are dysfunctional attitudes and beliefs.

This can be said about good habit prepare for tomorrow in order to get ready on time and not be late for school or work. If you fail to do this once, you will have the unpleasant experience of arriving late, for example, for a meeting. As a result of acquiring a negative experience, a person’s subconscious remembers it. When such a situation is repeated, the brain gives a signal or a guide to action to get away from troubles. Or vice versa, do nothing. That is why some people, having received a refusal of an offer for the first time, try not to make it again the next time. We are always guided by our thoughts, we are influenced by our own images. What to do for a person who has had many negative contacts throughout his life, and under their influence a certain worldview has been formed. It prevents you from moving on and conquering new heights. There is a way out. It's called cognitive behavioral psychotherapy.

This method is one of modern trends in the treatment of mental illness. The basis of treatment is the study of the origin of a person’s complexes and his psychological problems. American psychiatrist Aaron Beck is considered the creator of this method of therapy. Currently, Beck's cognitive psychotherapy is one of the effective ways treatment of depression, tendency to suicide attempts. Psychotherapy uses the principle of changing the patient's behavior and identifying thoughts that cause illness.

Goal of therapy

The main goals of cognitive therapy are:

Elimination of symptoms of the disease.
Reduced frequency of relapses after treatment.
Increases the efficiency of drug use.
Solution of many social problems patient.
Elimination of reasons that may cause this state, changing human behavior, adapting it to various life situations.

Basic principles of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy

This technique allows you to eliminate negative thoughts, create new ways of thinking and analysis real problem. Psychoanalysis includes:

The emergence of new stereotypes of thinking.
Exploring unwanted or desired thoughts and what causes them.
Visualizing that a new behavior can lead to emotional well-being.
How to apply new conclusions in your life, new situations.

The main idea of cognitive psychotherapy is that all the patient's problems come from his thinking. A person himself forms his own attitude to everything that happens. Thus, he has the corresponding feelings - fear, joy, anger, excitement. A person who inadequately evaluates the things, people and events around him can endow them with qualities that are not inherent to them.

Doctor's help

First of all, a psychiatrist, when treating such patients, tries to identify how they think, which leads to neurosis and suffering. And how to try to replace these categories of feelings with positive ones. People are again learning new methods of thinking that will lead to a more adequate assessment of any life situation. But the main condition for treatment is the patient’s desire to be cured. If a person is not aware of his disease and experiences some resistance, then treatment may be ineffective. Trying to change negative thoughts and stimulating change is quite difficult, because a person does not want to change his behavior and thinking. Many people don’t understand why they should change something in their life if they are already doing well. Conducting cognitive behavioral psychotherapy on your own will not be effective. Treatment, diagnosis and assessment of the degree of violations should be carried out by a specialist.

Types of therapy

Like other treatments, cognitive psychotherapy has a variety of techniques. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Treatment using modeling method. Man presents possible development situations as a consequence of his behavior. An analysis of his actions and how to deal with this is carried out. Apply various techniques relaxation, which will allow you to get rid of anxiety and remove possible provoking factors leading to stress. The method has proven itself well in the treatment of self-doubt and various fears.
Cognitive therapy. It is based on the acceptance that emotional disorders patient, he obviously has thoughts of failure. A person immediately thinks that he will not succeed, while self-esteem is low, the slightest hint of failure is perceived as the end of the world. During treatment, the reason for the appearance of such thoughts is studied. Various situations are set to provide positive life experiences. The more successful events in life, the more self-confident the patient is, the faster he creates a positive opinion about himself. Over time, a person turns from a loser into a successful and self-confident person.
Anxiety control training. The doctor teaches the patient to use anxiety as a relaxant. During the session, the psychiatrist works through possible situations to prepare the patient for frequently occurring events. This technique is used for those people who stressful situations cannot control themselves and cannot make a decision quickly.
Fighting stress. As a result of using this technique against stress, the patient learns relaxation with the help of a psychotherapist. A person gets stressed on purpose. This helps you gain experience using relaxation techniques, which may be useful in the future.
Rational-emotive therapy. There are people who consider themselves the best. These thoughts often lead to inconsistency real life to dreams. What can lead to constant stress, the discrepancy between dreams and reality is perceived as a terrible event. The treatment lies in motivating a person to live a real, not a fictional life. Over time, the ability to accept right decisions will protect you from unnecessary stress, the patient will no longer be dependent on his dreams.

What the patient will receive as a result of treatment:

The ability to identify negative thoughts.
It is realistic to evaluate thoughts and change them to more constructive ones that do not cause anxiety and depression.
Normalize and maintain your lifestyle, eliminate provoking factors for stress.
Use the skills you learn to combat anxiety.
Overcome anxiety, do not hide problems from loved ones, consult with them and use their support.

Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy

Today, correction of any psychological problems is carried out using the most different methods. One of the most progressive and effective is cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (CBT). Let's figure out how this technique works, what it consists of, and in what cases it is most effective.

The cognitive approach is based on the assumption that all psychological problems are caused by the thoughts and beliefs of the person himself.

Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is a direction that originates in the middle of the 20th century and today is only being improved every day. The basis of CBT is the idea that it is human nature to make mistakes while going through life’s journey. That is why any information can cause certain changes in a person’s mental or behavioral activity. The situation gives rise to thoughts, which in turn contribute to the development of certain feelings, and these already become the basis of behavior in a particular case. Behavior then generates new situation and the cycle repeats.

A striking example would be a situation in which a person is confident in his insolvency and powerlessness. In every difficult situation, he experiences these feelings, gets nervous and despairs, and, as a result, tries to avoid making a decision and cannot realize his desires. Often the cause of neuroses and other similar problems becomes an intrapersonal conflict. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy helps to determine the original source of the current situation, the patient’s depression and experiences, and then resolve the problem. A person becomes aware of the skill of changing his negative behavior and thinking patterns, which has a positive effect on both his emotional and physical state.

Intrapersonal conflict is one of the common reasons occurrence of psychological problems

CBT has several goals:

stop and permanently get rid of the symptoms of a neuropsychic disorder;
achieve a minimum probability of recurrence of the disease;
help improve the effectiveness of prescribed medications;
eliminate negative and erroneous stereotypes of thinking and behavior, attitudes;
resolve problems of interpersonal interaction.

Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy is effective for a wide variety of disorders and psychological problems. But most often it is used when the patient needs to receive quick help and short-term treatment.

For example, CBT is used for deviations eating behavior, problems with drugs and alcohol, inability to restrain and experience emotions, depression, increased anxiety, various phobias and fears.

Contraindications to the use of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy can only be severe mental disorders that require the use of medications and other regulatory actions and seriously threaten the life and health of the patient, as well as his loved ones and others.

Experts cannot say exactly at what age cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is used, since depending on the situation and the methods of working with the patient selected by the doctor, this parameter will be different. However, if necessary, such sessions and diagnostics are possible in both childhood and adolescence.

Use of CBT for severe mental disorders unacceptable, special drugs are used for this

The following factors are considered the main principles of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy:

A person's awareness of the problem.
Formation of an alternative pattern of actions and actions.
Consolidating new stereotypes of thinking and testing them in everyday life.

It is important to remember that both parties are responsible for the result of such therapy: the doctor and the patient. It's them coordinated work will allow you to achieve maximum effect and significantly improve a person’s life, taking it to a new level.

Advantages of the technique

The main advantage of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy can be considered visible result, affecting all areas of the patient’s life. The specialist finds out exactly what attitudes and thoughts negatively affect a person’s feelings, emotions and behavior, helps to critically perceive and analyze them, and then learn to replace negative stereotypes with positive ones.

Based on the skills developed, the patient creates a new way of thinking, which corrects the response to specific situations and the patient’s perception of them, and changes behavior. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps to get rid of many problems that cause discomfort and suffering to the person himself and his loved ones. For example, in this way you can cope with alcohol and drug addiction, some phobias, fears, and part with shyness and indecisiveness. The duration of the course is most often not very long - about 3-4 months. Sometimes it may take much longer, but in each specific case this issue is resolved individually.

Cognitive behavioral therapy helps to cope with a person’s anxieties and fears

It is important to remember that cognitive behavioral therapy has positive effect only when the patient himself has decided to change and is ready to trust and work with a specialist. In other situations, as well as in particularly difficult mental illness, for example, in schizophrenia, this technique is not used.

Types of therapy

Methods of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy depend on specific situation and the patient's problems have a specific purpose. The main thing for a specialist is to get to the root of the patient’s problem and teach the person positive thinking and ways of behavior in such a case. The most commonly used methods of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy are the following:

Cognitive psychotherapy, in which a person experiences uncertainty and fear, perceives life as a series of failures. At the same time, the specialist helps the patient develop a positive attitude towards himself, will help him accept himself with all his shortcomings, gain strength and hope.
Reciprocal inhibition. All negative emotions and during the session the feelings are replaced by other more positive ones. Therefore, they cease to have such a negative impact on human behavior and life. For example, fear and anger are replaced by relaxation.
Rational-emotive psychotherapy. At the same time, a specialist helps a person realize the fact that all thoughts and actions must be reconciled with the realities of life. And unrealizable dreams are the path to depression and neurosis.
Self-control. When working with this technique, reactions and human behavior in certain situations is fixed. This method works for unmotivated outbursts of aggression and other inappropriate reactions.
“Stop tap” technique and anxiety control. At the same time, the person himself says “Stop” to his negative thoughts and actions.
Relaxation. This technique is often used in combination with others to complete relaxation patient, creating a trusting relationship with a specialist, more productive work.
Self-instructions. This technique consists in creating a series of tasks for oneself and independently solving them in a positive way.
Introspection. At the same time, a diary can be kept, which will help in tracking the source of the problem and negative emotions.
Research and analysis threatening consequences. A person with negative thoughts changes them to positive ones, based on the expected results of the development of the situation.
A method for finding advantages and disadvantages. The patient himself or in pairs with a specialist analyzes the situation and his emotions in it, analyzes all the advantages and disadvantages, draws positive conclusions or looks for ways to solve the problem.
Paradoxical intention. This technique was developed by the Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl and consists in the fact that the patient is asked to experience a frightening or problematic situation over and over again in his feelings and does the opposite. For example, if he is afraid to fall asleep, then the doctor advises not to try to do this, but to stay awake as much as possible. In this case, after a while a person stops experiencing negative emotions associated with sleep.

Some of these types of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy can be carried out independently or act as a homework» after a specialist session. And when working with other methods, you cannot do without the help and presence of a doctor.

Self-observation is considered a type of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy

Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy Techniques

Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy techniques can be varied. Here are the most commonly used ones:

keeping a diary where the patient will write down his thoughts, emotions and situations preceding them, as well as everything exciting during the day;
reframing, in which by asking leading questions the doctor helps to change positive side patient stereotypes;
examples from literature when a doctor talks and gives specific examples literary characters and their actions in the current situation;
the empirical path, when a specialist offers a person several ways to try certain solutions in life and leads him to positive thinking;
a change of roles, when a person is invited to stand “on the other side of the barricades” and feel like the one with whom he has a conflict situation;
evoked emotions, such as anger, fear, laughter;
positive imagination and analysis of the consequences of a person’s choices.

Psychotherapy by Aaron Beck

Aaron Beck- American psychotherapist who examined and observed people suffering from neurotic depression, and concluded that depression and various neuroses develop in such people:

having a negative view of everything that happens in the present, even if it can bring positive emotions;
having a feeling of powerlessness to change something and hopelessness, when when imagining the future a person pictures only negative events;
suffering from low self-esteem and decreased self-esteem.

Aaron Beck used the most different methods. All of them were aimed at identifying a specific problem both from the specialist and from the patient, and then a solution to these problems was sought without correcting the specific qualities of the person.

Aaron Beck - an outstanding American psychotherapist, creator of cognitive psychotherapy

In Beck's cognitive behavioral therapy for personality disorders and other problems, the patient and therapist collaborate in an experimental test of the patient's negative judgments and stereotypes, and the session itself is a series of questions and answers to them. Each of the questions is aimed at promoting the patient to understand and understand the problem, and find ways to solve it. Also, a person begins to understand where they are leading him destructive behavior and mental messages, together with a doctor or independently collects the necessary information and verifies it in practice. In a word, cognitive behavioral psychotherapy according to Aaron Beck is a training or structured training that allows you to detect negative thoughts in time, find all the pros and cons, and change your behavior pattern to one that will give positive results.

What happens during the session

The choice of a suitable specialist is of great importance in the results of therapy. The doctor must have a diploma and documents permitting his activity. Then a contract is concluded between the two parties, which specifies all the main points, including details of the sessions, their duration and quantity, conditions and time of meetings.

The therapy session must be conducted by a licensed professional

This document also prescribes the main goals of cognitive behavioral therapy and, if possible, the desired result. The course of therapy itself can be short-term (15 one-hour sessions) or longer (more than 40 one-hour sessions). After completing the diagnosis and getting to know the patient, the doctor draws up an individual plan for working with him and the timing of consultation meetings.

As you can see, the main task of a specialist in the cognitive-behavioral direction of psychotherapy is considered to be not only monitoring the patient and finding out the origins of the problem, but also explaining your opinion on the current situation to the person himself, helping him to understand and build new mental and behavioral stereotypes. To increase the effect of such psychotherapy and consolidate the result, the doctor can give the patient special exercises and “homework”, use various techniques that can help the patient continue to act and develop in a positive direction independently.

Extreme situations Malkina-Pykh Irina Germanovna

3.4 COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOTHERAPY

At the heart of some modern approaches to study post-traumatic disorders lies the “appraisal theory of stress,” which emphasizes the role of causal attribution and attributional styles. Depending on how the causes of stress are explained, overcoming it is either focusing on the problem (an attempt to change the situation) or focusing on the emotional side of the experienced event (an attempt to change the feelings that resulted from stress). The most important determinants of causal attribution are personal attributional style and locus of control. Research confirms that locus of control can moderate the traumatic effect of an event. As for causal attribution, it significantly influences the chosen strategies for coping with stress. Data obtained by many researchers indicate that more intense manifestations PTSD is correlated with both personal (external locus of control, emotionally focused coping style) and social (lack of social support) factors.

It is traditionally believed that behavioral psychotherapy is most effective in correcting PTSD. According to the principle on which this type of therapy is based, to change behavior it is not necessary to understand the psychological reasons that determine it. Its purpose is mainly to form and strengthen the ability to take adequate action and to acquire skills that allow improved self-control.

Behavioral therapy techniques include positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, systematic desensitization, graded presentation, and self-monitoring.

Behavioral therapy seeks to replace unacceptable behaviors with acceptable ones and uses some techniques to reduce or stop unwanted behavior. For example, one technique teaches the client diaphragmatic breathing to relieve anxiety. Therapy can be carried out using systematic desensitization (gradual, step-by-step adaptation to a frightening situation) or the method of forcing alarming factors, or “flooding” (clients are put in a frightening situation and helped to cope with it). The injection method is considered more effective.

Systematic desensitization- a method aimed at ensuring that a client with PTSD, prone to avoidant behavior, creates in his imagination a hierarchy of disturbing images (from least to most frightening). He must remain at each level of the hierarchy until the anxiety disappears. When the procedure is carried out in real life rather than in imaginary life, this method is called graduated exposure. This technique, combined with positive reinforcement, targets anxiety-provoking factors and eliminates maladaptive behavior by eliminating negative consequences. The hierarchical design is often used in combination with relaxation techniques, since it has been established that anxiety and relaxation are mutually exclusive: this way the image is separated from the feeling of anxiety (mutual inhibition).

The method of intensifying anxiety-producing factors is considered the most effective method behavioral psychotherapy, provided that the client can tolerate treatment-related anxiety. In case this method based on the opposition of imaginary and real life, it is called implosion.

Cognitive-behavioral therapists suggest that psychopathology results from inaccurate appraisal of events, and therefore, changes in the appraisal of these events should lead to changes in emotional state client. Similar to behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy teaches clients to respond differently to situations that trigger panic attacks and other signs of anxiety. In this case, irrational judgments that arise against the background of anxiety and indirectly support it are eliminated.

Cognitive therapy is based on the theory that a person's behavior is determined by his thoughts about himself and his role in society. Maladaptive behavior is caused by ingrained stereotypes that can lead to cognitive distortions, or errors in thinking. Appropriate therapy is aimed at correcting such cognitive distortions and their consequences in the form of behavioral attitudes. Cognitive therapy is short term method treatment, usually designed for 15 to 20 sessions over 12 weeks.

During this period, clients must become aware of their own distorted beliefs and attitudes. The homework assignments are as follows: Clients are asked to write down how they feel in certain stressful situations and to identify the partially unconscious underlying conditions that trigger them. negative attitudes(such as: “I’m imperfect” or “no one cares about me”). This method is called recognizing and correcting involuntary thoughts. The cognitive model of depression includes the cognitive triad - a description of the distortions of thinking that are characteristic of depression. This triad includes: a negative attitude towards oneself, a negative interpretation of the present and past life experience and a pessimistic view of the future.

Suicidality may also be a target for therapy. One promising therapeutic approach is to teach the client to: a) think of other ways to solve the problem and b) distract from suicidal desires by using various techniques distractions (Meiclienaum, 1977). Cognitive rehearsal can also be used with suicidal clients. The client must:

1. Imagine yourself in a hopeless situation.

2. Feel despair and suicidal impulses.

3. Try to work out possible solutions problems, despite the pressure of suicidal desires.

After this, the client is given the task of trying out this technique in real life situations. He must dive into unpleasant situation(for example, a confrontational situation with a spouse) and then try to find realistic ways to solve the problems that arise. The therapist presents the client with a hypothetical but realistic situation that could provoke a crisis, a situation similar to those in which the client has found himself in the past, and then they explore in detail what course of action should be taken in this situation.

In cases where the core of suicidal desire is a feeling of hopelessness, the therapist, using various methods, must show the client: a) that his current life situation allows for other, less gloomy interpretations and b) that he has the opportunity to solve his problems in a different way.

The therapeutic strategy for dealing with feelings of hopelessness is based on the premise that the depressed client's thinking and perceptions are constrained by preconceived conclusions. It does not occur to the client to question his preconceptions. The therapist's task is to arouse the client's interest in exploring negative prejudices. The therapist points out facts to the client that contradict his conclusions, thus creating a “ cognitive dissonance” prompts the client to reconsider his position.

Behavioral and cognitive therapists find a number of common features(Doyle, 1987):

1. Both are not interested in the causes of disorders or the past of clients, but deal with the present: behavioral therapists focus on current behavior, and cognitive therapists focus on what a person thinks about himself and the world in the present.

2. Both view therapy as a learning process and the therapist as a teacher. Behavioral therapists teach new ways of behaving, and cognitive therapists teach new ways of thinking.

3. Both give homework to their clients so that the latter practice outside the therapist’s office what they learned during therapy sessions.

4. Both of them prefer a practical approach, devoid of absurdity (which, from their point of view, psychoanalysis is guilty of) and not burdened with complex theories of personality.

More information about the theory of cognitive behavioral therapy can be found in next works: Alexandrov, 2000; Burlachuk et al., 1999; Lazarus, 2000 a, b; McMullin, 2001; Beck. 1995; Ellis, 1973; Ellis and Drvden, 1996; Ellis. Grieger, 1977; Lazarus, 1995; Wolpe, 1969.

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Why Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Is Effective Many people believe that painful feelings are caused by forgotten childhood experiences, and you can get rid of these feelings only through difficult psychological analysis personality and identifying unconscious memories and

From the book Theories of Personality and personal growth author Frager Robert

Cognitive-affective personality system According to Mischel, apparent inconsistency in people's behavior represents potentially predictable, consistent behavior that reflects stable patterns of variation that exist

From the book Psychology and Family Psychotherapy author Eidemiller Edmond

Cognitive-affective units To predict behavior in a specific situation and determine personal autograph, Michel's cognitive-affective theory assigns to each individual a set of partially overlapping personality variables -

From the book The Seven Deadly Sins, or Psychology of Vice [for believers and non-believers] author Shcherbatykh Yuri Viktorovich

Family behavioral psychotherapy The theoretical basis for family behavioral psychotherapy is contained in the works of B. F. Skinner, A. Bandura, D. Rotter and D. Kelly. Since this direction in the domestic literature is described in sufficient detail (Kjell L., Ziegler

From the book Hypersensitive Nature. How to succeed in a crazy world by Aaron Elaine

Behavioral psychotherapy Feel free to lose your temper if there is no other way out. Marian Karczmarczyk Conflict Resolution StrategiesIf your anger primarily arises in conflict situations, then it may make sense for you to reconsider your behavior in conflicts.

From the book Psychotherapy Techniques for PTSD author Dzeruzhinskaya Natalia Alexandrovna

Cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy designed to relieve specific symptoms, most available through insurance and managed care plans. This method is called "cognitive" because

From the book Guide to Systemic Behavioral Psychotherapy author Kurpatov Andrey Vladimirovich

From the book Dramatherapy by Valenta Milan

Part one Systemic behavioral psychotherapy The first part of the “Manual” is devoted to three main issues: · firstly, it is necessary to give a detailed definition of systemic behavioral psychotherapy (SBP); · secondly, to present a conceptual model of systemic behavioral psychotherapy;

From the book Psychology. People, concepts, experiments by Kleinman Paul

3.4.2. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy Representatives of psychotherapeutic schools of the cognitive-behavioral direction proceed from the principles experimental psychology and learning theories (mainly instrumental conditioning and positive

From the book Psychotherapy. Tutorial author Team of authors

Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy How to learn to realize that you do not always behave correctly Today, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is widely used to treat various mental disorders, such as depression, phobias,

From the author's book

Cognitive-behavioral direction Currently, behavioral psychotherapy in pure form practically never occurs. Formed as a systematic approach in the late 1950s, behavior therapy was based on the concept of behaviorism as an application

From the author's book

Chapter 4. Behavioral psychotherapy History of the behavioral approach Behavioral therapy as a systematic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders arose relatively recently - in the late 1950s. On early stages developmental behavior therapy

From the author's book

Cognitive-behavioral therapy It is generally accepted that cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) is the most effective in correcting PTSD. Her main goal is the formation and strengthening of the ability to take adequate action, to acquire skills,