Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Assumptions, Goals, and Techniques

This article discusses the assumptions, goals, and techniques of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for treating mental health issues. It explains how CBT works, its assumptions, and goals, and how therapists use techniques like SMART analysis to help clients achieve their goals. The article also includes a case study of a patient with trust issues and isolation and how a therapist might approach their treatment.

Introduction
Cognitive behavioral therapy is used for treating various health issues related to the
mental conditions. It is based on the techniques that how the patient feel, act and think; all these
interact with each other (Wong, 2013). The patient’s thoughts specifically determine their
behavior and feelings. Thus, unrealistic and negative thoughts can lead to distress and problem.
When the people suffer from psychological distress, their way of situation interpretation become
crooked that cause negative impact on their action (Wong, 2013). The aim of the CBT is to
support the people to be aware that when they develop negative interpretation and behavior
pattern that underline the distorted thinking. The therapy helps the people to develop alternative
thinking and behavior way that aims for a reduction of their psychological distress (La Roche &
Lustig, 2013).
CBT assumption
This approach believes that the abnormality stems from the world, faulty cognitions
about the others. These faulty thinking might be through cognitive distortions (inaccurate
processing of the information) or cognitive deficiencies (lack of the planning). These cognitions
result in distortion in the technique related to the individuals view. Ellis recommended it occurs
due to irrational thinking while Beck suggested cognitive triad (La Roche & Lustig, 2013). The
people interact with the world through the mental representation of cognitive distortion. If the
mental representations are not accurate or the way of reasoning among the individual is not
sufficient then the behavior and emotions may develop disorder. The therapist teaches the client
that how he can identify the distorted cognition through the evaluation process (La Roche &
Lustig, 2013). The client acquires the learning of discrimination between the reality and thoughts
and learning about the cognition influence on the feelings and the person are educated to
observe, recognize and monitor their personal thoughts. Some common irrational assumptions
are as follows; One’s idea that should be systematically competent entirely; the catastrophic idea

when things are not according to the person’s way; the people’s idea that there is no control on
the happiness; the idea that the person requires someone who is stronger than that person on
which he can depend; the idea that the past history of the person has great influence on the
present life. It is beleived that each and every individuals issue have the solution but if remains
unresolved can result into disaster (Pilecki & McKay, 2013).
In codrina case, the first assumption is the impact of her past life on her present as she has sense
of isolation. For such reason she not disclosed her emotions and has serious mood swings every
time. Her ex-husband also complained that he always felt lonely and distant in his three years
married life. The second assumption of the Cordina case is she felt that no one in this world is
trustable that’s why she had an abusive relationship with a man for few years before her marriage
and after that when her ex-husband had affair with his colleague she didnot reacted and felt
relieved. The third assumption relted to the serious nature because of which her husband left her
as she had not shown no emotion or feeling while knowing the fact that her husband had affair
and was relaxed.
Being a cognitive behavioral therapist, in Codrina case the goal should be a reduction of her
sense of isolation and improvement of her non-trustable nature. The goal should include the self-
awareness promotion and educate the person about the emotional intelligence that will help the
client to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy emotions and feelings and rapidly reduction
in the symptoms that emphasis on examination of the current situation of the client and solution
of the current problem (Kathryn McHugh, 2010). For this, the therapist will plan for the regular
homework for Codrina. The home work includes keeping a diary of the thoughts, for the
isolation to meet a friend in the pub; all these support the patient to overcome her irrational
beliefs. The goal is the people’s identification of own unhelpful beliefs and then proves them
wrong as a result these irrational beliefs started to change(Persons, 2016).
The goal of the therapist is different from the Codrina goal as therapist want to reduce her

negative thoughts and perception that cause distress, depression and the health problems and try
to convert them into positive thoughts, but Codrina concern is only that either she will able to do
love again in life or not that is not to reduce the negative thoughts (Reese, Rosenfield &
Wilhelm, 2013).
Cognitive distortions are numbers of processes that are related to the thought distortion and these
thoughts configuration are self-defeating and lead to depression or anxiety for the person. In the
Codrina case, she has two types of cognitive distortions (Kathryn McHugh, 2010).
Magnification that is overstressed on the undesirable event’s importance as in the Codrina case
because she had two bad experiences with men, she thinks that she is not able to do love again
with anyone and because of her past life she has a sense of isolation and thinks that she has been
shunned by the people
Overgeneralization means on a single unimportant event, there is drawing of negative
conclusions as in the case of Codrina; she had non trustable nature because her husband had
affairs with his co-worker in the second year of her married life (Carmin, 2012). Yet, due to guilt,
her husband had told her about his affairs but at that time Codrina did not show any type of
emotion and asked her to stop. That showed that she had non-trustable nature (Carmin, 2012).
Conclusion
The first method is Magic and Question according to this there will be a question on the
assumption that if you have a magic stick that can change the world as you like and tomorrow
you will wake up in your desirable world then what would be your experience (Reese,
Rosenfield & Wilhelm, 2013). Once the therapist selects the goal then next step is prioritization
of the goals that which goal is to achieve on priority after that there is a selection of the most
important goal.

After that, for the achievement of the stated goal, the therapist can use the SMART analysis
technique that is
S for Specific
M for measurable
A for achievable
R for realistic
T for the time frame
According to this goal should be specific that can be easily measured, can able to achieve and
real goal and has a time frame in which this goal has to be achieved (Reese, Rosenfield &
Wilhelm, 2013).
References
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Kathryn McHugh, R. (2010). Evidence-Based Practice of Cognitive-Behavioral
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/16506070903190260
La Roche, M., & Lustig, K. (2013). Being Mindful About the Assessment of Culture: A Cultural
Analysis of Culturally Adapted Acceptance-Based Behavior Therapy Approaches. Cognitive
And Behavioral Practice, 20(1), 60-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2012.04.002

Persons, J. (2016). Science in Practice in Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Cognitive And Behavioral
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