COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY

Running head: COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Introduction:
Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) has emerged as an effective psychotherapy for the
patients suffering from mental disorders and psychological distress. It is used for altering the
thought process and providing them with a purposeful life. The core premise of this treatment
approach is the maladaptive cognitive factors which contributed to the development of
psychological distress. The case study involves a 52-year-old widow suffering from depression
after the death of her husband seven years ago. She experienced tearfulness, irritation,
exhaustion, increased self-critical thought. This paper aims to develop a Cognitive-behavioural
therapy treatment plan by considering the maladaptive behaviour of the patient.
Discussion:
Building therapeutic rapport:
In order to create a plan for cognitive behavioural therapy, it is fundamental to build trust
and rapport with patients. Harris (2013), suggested that while establishing a therapeutic
relationship with the mentally ill patients, effective communication is the fundamental skill that a
therapist is required to demonstrate. In this context, while interacting with Medina, therapist
must use open communication and maintain eye contact while introducing him/ her to Medina.
Additionally, the therapist must exhibit active listening, warmth, empathetic approach through
tone voice and accurate comprehension of Medina so that she feel and safe. After providing a
sense of comfort, the therapists must share conceptualization and treatment plan followed by
collaborative decision making (Chin & Ahmad, 2017). The communication with the patient must
provide a sense of optimism and a greater sense of self-efficacy. It will enable her to involve in
collaborative decision making and treatment plan.
Interview for the CBT:

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A semi-structured interview can be conducted using a technique such as the ‘Five Ws’ -
what, when, where, with and why question. These questions will encourage Medina to narrate
her problems in more detail and the therapist can gain a perception of her thoughts, beliefs and
values. Additionally, FIND method can be used for gaining an understanding of frequency,
intensity, number, duration of depressive symptoms.
Questions that can be asked to Medina are the following:
 Tell me what exactly you are feeling right now?
 How often do you feel the same thing?
 When do you feel these things can you tell me?
 Why do you think there is something is wrong with you?
 How often do you think something is wrong?
 Tell me about your relationship with your family members and son?
 Do you feel happy when you are them? How many times do you think something like this
in the day?
 What is going through your mind right now?
 Tell me about your relationship with your employer?
 Do you feel anxious when you recall the incident? Do you anxious and made negative
predictions?
 Tell me about your relationship with your husband?
 Do you recall any incidents where your husband made you anxious?
 Describe your mood and behaviour when you are anxious. Is it like turmoil or steady
emotion?
 Tell me more about your relationship with your husband?

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 Do you feel agitated when you lost control of the surrounding?
 Tell me about relationship with your siblings, Family members and peers?
Influence of thinking on behaviour, physiology and feelings:
Usually thinking of individuals reflected in the behaviour of the individuals. There is a
strong correlation between thinking and behaviour as observed in this case scenario. While
Medina involves in thinking regarding factors present in the situation and thinking triggers the
feeling. These maladaptive thinking process gradually developed and reflected in the behaviour
such as poor appetite, exhaustion (Clark & Egan, 2018). In this context, the cognitive model
would be the most suitable model for assessing the link between the maladaptive thought process
and behaviour. The model enables clients to identify their automatic thoughts, modify the beliefs
and current the behaviours exhibited when activating events triggers (Leder, 2017). Therefore,
the therapist is required to use guided discovery along with cognitive model for guiding Medina
in understanding the links between thinking and behaviour. Medina can be provided with self-
evaluation questions for evaluating the validity of the negative thinking such as “what are the
evidence that your thoughts are true ? “ (Harris,2013). What are the alternative way of the view
of the situation, what is the realistic outcome of it?
Core Beliefs, Unhelpful Assumptions and Rules:
Negative automatic thought is defined as negatively framed interpretation of how individuals
perceive themselves and surroundings. It was first defined by Beck for referring to negative
interpretation of the individuals (Philippi et al., 2016). It is often common instances for the
individuals with anxiety and depression where contributing factors are stress, traumatic events,
sleep deprivation, role dispute and poor interpersonal relationship. As observed in this case study