What Types of Therapy Exist?
Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive therapy changes your emotions and reactions by changing the way you think. Your mind reacts to events in the following way:
This is a normal cycle, but if even just one step becomes maladaptive or harmful, then it can change your entire cognitive process. For example, if you have the tendency to interpret events in a way that is self destructive or irrational, then that will affect the goal clarification, response construction, and all other subsequent steps in the cognitive cycle. Eventually, it can change your cognitive-emotional data base more permanently. This is what causes overall negative feelings and self-image.
Cognitive therapy tries to change your harmful core beliefs by intervening in this cognitive cycle, identifying which step or cognition may be the origin of these beliefs, and then working on changing the way your mind completes this step. This activity is often structured in an "ABC" model:
Cognitive therapy tries to change your harmful core beliefs by intervening in this cognitive cycle, identifying which step or cognition may be the origin of these beliefs, and then working on changing the way your mind completes this step. This activity is often structured in an "ABC" model:
Negative feelings generally do not arise on their own or appear suddenly after a negative event; they arise as a consequence of your beliefs or interpretations of the event. The first step in this diagram is A, which stands for Activating Event. This refers the event or events that usually occur before you feel bad. This negative feeling or emotion is C, the Consequence of this process. The way you get from A to C is--you guessed it--through B, or your Beliefs. An activating event occurs, which activates your negative or irrational beliefs. These events and beliefs have a consequence, which is your negative feeling or emotion.
The goal of cognitive therapy is to change B, your beliefs and interpretations of the activating events, in order to make your consequent feelings neutral or even positive. A tool often used to help clients change their beliefs is a thought record:
The goal of cognitive therapy is to change B, your beliefs and interpretations of the activating events, in order to make your consequent feelings neutral or even positive. A tool often used to help clients change their beliefs is a thought record:
This thought record helps you identify which thoughts or beliefs are irrational responses to events. Then, it helps you develop an alternative thought that will lead to a neutral or positive emotion instead of the original negative feeling.
For example, let's say you and your friend planned a phone call for 8:00, and it's 8:15 already and she hasn't called. You worry that she doesn't care about you or doesn't like talking to you, and you start feeling sad and very bad about yourself. In this situation, the activating event is your friend not calling at the expected time, the belief (or negative automatic thought) is that she doesn't care about you or enjoy talking to you, and the consequence is that you feel sad and self-critical. If you were filling out this thought record, you would then try to think of evidence that supports the thought that she doesn't want to talk to you. For example, you might remember thinking that she didn't seem extremely excited to call you. After you fill out supporting evidence, you would then try to think of evidence that does not support this thought. For example, she calls you at this time every night and seems to really enjoy herself. Next, you would think of alternative thoughts that explain the event in light of your new evidence. For example, you remember she said she had a lot of homework to do that night, or her family might be eating dinner at 8:00, or she is just a forgetful person in general. Finally, after considering these new thoughts, you would then record your new emotion or feeling.
Permanent changes in beliefs and cognitions do not change overnight. It will take a lot of practice before these positive alternative thoughts replace the negative automatic thoughts and become a normal part of your cognitive cycle. However, once they do, you will find that your emotions and feelings are overall much more positive as well. Cognitive therapy is usually used in combination with behavioral therapy to create Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT. While this type of therapy works well for older children, adolescents, and adults, it is difficult to guide a young child through these steps of changing automatic cognitions. For this reason, if your child is still relatively young, your therapist will most likely recommend a therapy other than cognitive therapy, such as behavioral therapy.
For example, let's say you and your friend planned a phone call for 8:00, and it's 8:15 already and she hasn't called. You worry that she doesn't care about you or doesn't like talking to you, and you start feeling sad and very bad about yourself. In this situation, the activating event is your friend not calling at the expected time, the belief (or negative automatic thought) is that she doesn't care about you or enjoy talking to you, and the consequence is that you feel sad and self-critical. If you were filling out this thought record, you would then try to think of evidence that supports the thought that she doesn't want to talk to you. For example, you might remember thinking that she didn't seem extremely excited to call you. After you fill out supporting evidence, you would then try to think of evidence that does not support this thought. For example, she calls you at this time every night and seems to really enjoy herself. Next, you would think of alternative thoughts that explain the event in light of your new evidence. For example, you remember she said she had a lot of homework to do that night, or her family might be eating dinner at 8:00, or she is just a forgetful person in general. Finally, after considering these new thoughts, you would then record your new emotion or feeling.
Permanent changes in beliefs and cognitions do not change overnight. It will take a lot of practice before these positive alternative thoughts replace the negative automatic thoughts and become a normal part of your cognitive cycle. However, once they do, you will find that your emotions and feelings are overall much more positive as well. Cognitive therapy is usually used in combination with behavioral therapy to create Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT. While this type of therapy works well for older children, adolescents, and adults, it is difficult to guide a young child through these steps of changing automatic cognitions. For this reason, if your child is still relatively young, your therapist will most likely recommend a therapy other than cognitive therapy, such as behavioral therapy.