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What is Cognitive Therapy Theory?
What is Cognitive Therapy Theory? Cognitive Therapy theory was developed by psychologist Aaron T Beck and based on the principle that the way people behave is influenced by how they structure their experience. Essentially, our emotions occur as a result of our thinking; and how we perceive (or make sense of) what’s going on around us.
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Thought Patterning Principally, Beck argued that we all maintain automatic patterns of thought (known as internal dialogue) and the content and nature of these thoughts (ie. whether they are mostly positive or mostly negative) affect our emotional states - such as happiness or depression. Cognitive Therapy Theory. Errors in Logic In addition to automatic thinking we are also vulnerable to errors in logic. Unfortunately, we live in a world full of uncertainty and ambiguity and, because ‘not knowing’ is generally an aversive emotional state, we too often attempt to make sense of things given the limited information available to us. Inevitably, we end up making errors in judgement by jumping to conclusions, overgeneralising, ignoring important information, magnifying or exaggerating negative events, taking things too personally, or interpreting things in a ‘black or white’ or polarized way. These errors in logic result in inaccurate conclusions resulting in us making poor judgements based on this ‘misinformation’. The results of these judgements can be further negative emotions or dysfunctions behaviours.
Cognitive Therapy Theory Treatment Treatment begins by learning to monitor your thoughts and assumptions; identifying distorted, dysfunctional, or simply incorrect, thinking and ‘reality testing’ by checking these beliefs with others. Also, by learning to discriminate between your thoughts and reality, you can begin to take control over erroneous thinking. Next, comes the correction of your inaccurate thoughts through a process called Cognitive Restructuring. This strategy aims to alter your negative or inaccurate internal dialogue to a more positive way of thinking, which thereby alleviates negative emotional states. The saying "Think Good, Feel Good’ is a simple and accurate description of the Cognitive Restructuring process.
Example: A person may interpret loosing their wallet as being absolutely tragic. They panic, worry and catastrophize about the negative impact this will have on their life. They phone everyone they know, spend the day frantically looking for the wallet in the most extraordinary of places, and possibly develop a headache from all that "stress". On the other hand, another person in a similar situation may react completely differently when they notice their wallet lost. They remain calm, reassure themselves that the wallet will be found and block any negative thoughts about what’s occurred. This person makes the appropriate contacts to attempt to locate the wallet and secure their finances such as cancel credit cards, bank cards, etc. At the end of their day, although disappointed that the wallet is still not found, they may continue to reassure themselves that everything is safe and they use self talk to put a positive spin on the situation e.g. observing the opportunity to buy a new wallet, etc. Essentially, the 2nd person deals with the situation in a way that allows them to remain calm, think more clearly and results in less stress. Through the use of Cognitive Therapy Theory we can further develop our sense of self-esteem and effectiveness, which then bolsters our confidence and overall self-image. By recognizing and altering negative, limiting thoughts and believes, about ourselves and what we’re capable of, into powerful positive, self statements, we can increase our own sense of worth. It is truly amazing how controlling our thoughts can influence our general mood and future potential.
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