Aaron Beck’s Approach Cognitive Therapy, Research Paper Example

We have had a dozen and one cognitive behavioral theorists who have developed unique twists on Cognitive therapy approaches. One such personal twist is by the famous theorist, Dr. Aaron Beck, who believes that negative thoughts usually generate from dysfunctional personal beliefs to become the primal causes of depression. Let us analyze that in detail.

Statement of Purpose and Rationale

Contemporary cognitive theories gained prominence after early behaviorists failed to consider the value of feelings and thought in therapy.  The so-called cognitive movement accrued not from a rejection of behavioral principles, but as an integration of mental events and circumstances into the traditional behavioral framework. This makes cognitive Behavioral theories (simply referred to as cognitive theories) an improved hybrid of psychotherapy theories (Burns, 1999).  Aaron Beck is among the most vocal and dynamically relevant theorist in this school of cognitive theories.

It is based on that background and subjective evaluation that this model was selected as the subject of discussion. There is a wide spread believe that cognitive behaviorism theories such as that of Beck, are the dominant and most researched psychotherapy theories available today. His cognitive theory was the first to be featured in academic settings. This paper construes such an importance inquisitively, trying to evaluate its soundness and or application effectiveness (Burns, 1999).

Introducing Aaron Beck’s Model of Cognitive Therapy

Early behavioral theories had been considerably successful in dealing with many neurotic disorders. Nevertheless, none had any considerable success in treating, preventing and or managing depression. Behaviorism had also fallen prey to the popularity of the cognitive revolution. It was it this point that Aaron T. Beck and Albert Ellis came up with a very popular model of psychotherapy. Even the behavior therapists who had earlier rejected the mentalistic concepts of cognition and thought found Aaron’s model worth considering.

It was Albert Ellis’s 1950 system that pioneered the first rational therapy, which is today termed as the original blueprint from which modern cognitive behavioral therapy evolved. Aaron T. Beck then took up the mantle in the 1960’s. He was mainly inspired by Ellis’ system in the development of his cognitive therapy model. Consequently, cognitive therapy became a rapidly favorite intervention approach to psychotherapy research not only for curative purposes but also in most academic settings.

Beck drew a direct relationship between the severity of a person’s negative beliefs (thus thoughts) and the severity of resultant depressive symptoms.  As we will elaborate and exemplify hereunder, Beck’s approach cognitive therapy is based on the premise that the intensity of negative thoughts experience is equal to the intensity of depressive symptoms you develop.

Key assumptions here were that an individual suffering from depression had negative thoughts. That depression itself was only a consequence of dominant negative thoughts. According to Beck in his earlier publications, depression is a consequence of the negative beliefs in a person’s mind attaining prominence over anything that is positive or good. As such, depression is assumed as the state of being in negative thoughts, negative frame of mind and negative feelings. In this respect, treating depression using Aaron Beck’s model of cognitive therapy involved subordinating or eliminating negative beliefs that fathered negative thoughts in an individual. This is assumed to return a person in a non-depressed state since the dominant thoughts are now positive.

In an overall evaluation, cognitive behavioral therapy usually allies very in his closely with the scientist–practitioner model. The scientist–practitioner model of clinical practice is informed solely by scientific perspectives, precise operationalization of a problem, placing emphasis on the measurement-ability of actions and having quantifiable goal attainment. These are the very same techniques that Beck used to develop his theory. Of late, they have been called principles of scientific enquiry and thought namely, logical steps, verifiability, quantifiable results, a reliable process and a scientific theorem of operation.

Beck asserts that we have three dysfunctional themes of belief (what he calls schemas) which usually dominate a depressed person’s thinking. These three schemas are Inadequacy (I am inadequate or defective), failure/looser (All my efforts end up failure and defeat) and finally hopelessness (there is no hope for the future). These three schemas are described by Beck as a Negative Cognitive Triad.  Beck’s approach to cognitive therapy thus operates from the principle that, the presence of the negative cognitive triad is the cause of depression. The triad essentially constitutes what must be targeted by any treatment therapy. Again, according the Beck, this is the nature of counseling relationship that must be adopted to treat or prevent depression since when the three beliefs develop in one’s cognition, depression will inevitably occur if it is not yet there already.

If a negative event happens in a person’s life (loosing a job for instance), the counseling should first help such a patient to understand that the unfortunate event was not consequent to his or her inadequacy. Next, the counseling must help the patient understand that having failed many times does not crown one a career failure up until that time the person admits to be a failure. Finally, the patient should be helped to see the potential in the future. The idea is to stimulate the patient to recognize his or her own future potential and which he or she has absolute control of.

A person operating in the negative cognitive triad will see a job loss as personal failure while the absence of the triad will make a person regard the job loss as an indication of the employer’s financial woes and the need to find a stable employer. The same event happened but the schemas of mind interpret it in deferent ways; either towards depression causing negativity or positively (Dryden, 1994).

Another key aspect to Beck’s model of cognitive therapy is selective thoughts. According to Beck, besides having negative dysfunctional thoughts, the triad also subjectively shapes what one pays attention to. Beck asserts emphatically that a depressed person always pays selective attention and only to the aspects of his or her environments, that elaborately confirms the content of their thoughts. Even when contrary evidence is right in front of their eyes, they will not see it. The failure to see or to pay attention objectively and properly is what Beck calls faulty information processing.

In diagnosing a person with information processing, there are characteristic failures that indicate a depressed mind. For instance, a depressed person demonstrates selective attention to every piece of information, and particularly focuses on the part of the information that matches or confirms their already dominant negative expectations. They will also display selective inattention to the same information especially that part of the information that contradicts the dominant negative expectations. No matter how positive a performance review is, a depressed person will always find and then overly focus on a minute negative comment on the review. Depressed persons magnify the meaning and importance of negative events, while at the same time minimizing the meaning and importance of the positive events.  All this is done unconsciously (Dryden, 1994).

In this instance, the therapy must try to make the person objectively review circumstances and events and to overcome the unconsciously negativity. The depressed person’s negative schemas must be elaborated and then confronted with contradictory evidence that the patient has ignored. This allows them to refrain from feeling hopeless and triggers a revaluation of the future in a positive light.

Beck’s model adopts a variety of therapeutic systems and approaches. The most researched and widely used therapeutic techniques includes keeping a diary, monitoring behaviors and thoughts, questioning cognition, testing cognitions, making assumptions, regular evaluation of thoughts and beliefs etc. The idea is to cultivate of behaving objectively, maintaining a relaxed mind and distracting negative thoughts from invading the patients mind. It must however be noted that cognitive therapy is never an overnight process as construed by Beck. It is a process of learning how and what to think objectively and then taking reign over the mental processes (Beck, 1993).

Evaluating Aaron Beck’s Model of Cognitive Therapy

Beck’s Model gained importance because it integrated behaviors with cognitive processes as the basis of understanding the causes and therapeutic techniques of depression. It is also very strategic in dealing with depressive symptoms since it addresses each with a resolute reactive treatment. More importantly, treating depression according to Beck is a practical approach that can be applied dynamically to feature a particular clients symptoms and not a singular method that is universally applicable to the deferent levels of severity and cases of the condition. There is however no prove that the method is more effective than other psychotherapy models as was highlighted by participants of the July 2008 psychotherapy conference held at University of East Anglia. The depiction of this model as superior has caused governments to overspend on it, in complete ignorance of other effective models that just happen to be under-researched.

A recent article (2009) featured in the Psychological Medicine titled ‘Cognitive therapy for major psychiatric disorder’ published a study  in which the scholars found depression therapy using placebo to be more effective than cognitive therapy, especially in treating and avoiding relapses of bipolar disorder. Sometimes, depression occurs not because of having negative thoughts but because of being in a negative environment. This factor was not incorporated in Beck’s model (Beck, 1993).

In application, Aaron Beck’s model of cognitive therapy is a common treatment in most of clinical and even non-clinical ventures. It is mainly used to treat personality conditions, clinical disorders and behavioral problems. It has proved very effective in treating anxiety disorders, mood disorders insomnia, posttraumatic stress severe mental disorders (not those caused by drug abuse), children and adolescents identity problems.

Conclusion

Beck’s approach cognitive therapy gained significance since it was the first scientifically based incorporation of mentalistic approaches to the behavioral framework of psychoanalysis. The basic principles of the therapy include the fact that a depressed person has negative schemas of interpreting life. They only see the negative trends in life and completely ignore everything positive. This concentrating in the negatives makes them see themselves as inferior, losers and doomed to failure. Beck’s model proposes the treatment of depression to be elimination of these negative thoughts and replacement with realistic evaluation of positive thoughts.

References

Beck, A. et. al. (1993). Cognitive Therapy of Substance Abuse. New York: The Guilford Press.

Beck, A. (1993). Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. New York: Penguin.

Burns, D. (1999). The Feeling Good Handbook. New York: Plume.

Dryden, W. (1994). Ten Steps to Positive Living. New York: Sheldon Press.