The 4 Main Characteristics Of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the very popular psychological intervention models and known for being effective and versatile, applicable to a wide range of problems to be treated. of the predominant methodologies in current psychological intervention due to its effective results.
Here we will know The distinctive features of cognitive behavioral therapywith a summary of the way it works to help people.
What do we understand by cognitive-behavioral model in psychotherapy?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy includes a series of useful techniques and strategies to help those who have psychological needs or problems (not necessarily psychopathological), based on the scientific method. These forms of intervention aim to achieve a profound change in the person’s cognitive and behavioral processesmaking you have more resources to face certain situations.
This type of therapy is applied to a wide variety of psychological disorders and problems in the way of relating to other people. Historically, It originated in the 1950s and 1960s as a response to the behaviorist perspective on emotions and human behavior., understanding that the latter was too reductionist and limited; However, in a certain way it is heir to the forms of therapy proposed by behaviorists.
Features of cognitive-behavioral therapy
Let’s see what the main characteristics of the cognitive-behavioral model are.
1. Focus on the present
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is based on a bio-psycho-social conception of the individual; That is, it assumes that the way people think, feel and behave is the product of a dynamic and always changing process in which the biological predispositions of the body as well as the social context in which they live participate. Therefore, it does not look so much for the causes of problems in the distant past (for example, childhood years) as in the present, based on an analysis of what happens in the person’s daily life in that phase of his life.
2. It takes into account what is known as cognitive schemes
One of the main functions of cognitive behavioral therapy is achieve a change for the better sustained over time, from the modification of the so-called “cognitive schemes”. These are a system of recurring thoughts, beliefs and feelings that constitute the “circuit” of mental elements from which the person interprets what happens to them, and even their own identity as an individual. That is, it is a kind of ideological filter through which we draw conclusions about what happens in the world and in ourselves.
Sometimes, the psychological problem appears, among other things, because the cognitive scheme that we have developed is dysfunctional, that is, it leads us to fall again and again into a series of errors. For this reason, in cognitive-behavioral therapy these types of problems are detected and work is done to modify cognitive schemes, offering other alternative ways of interpreting things.
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3. Take into account the power of habits
Cognitive behavioral therapy It’s something like a training program.in the sense that it is not intended to achieve sudden and revolutionary changes in a single session, but rather that the improvement appears gradually, through several sessions carried out periodically (in most cases, a weekly session).
This involves doing practical exercises that go beyond the theoretical, since achieving the goals of therapy is not based simply on thinking, but on performing a series of mental exercises that, at the same time, are linked to physical exercises. : you have to interact with the environment in certain ways, participate in certain situations, etc.
In this way, it is easier for the person to transform their habits in order to self-train and consolidate the change for the better in their daily life, without the need for the professional to be present.
4. Work through both avenues of intervention at the same time
Since the cognitive-behavioral model understands that the human mind is not something isolated in each person’s head, but is linked to day-to-day actions, the way in which it proposes addressing problems is act in two ways: that of ideas and beliefs, on the one hand, and that of interaction with the world and with others..
This principle is reflected in the main techniques included in the cognitive-behavioral paradigm, which are explained below.
1. Exhibition Techniques
Exposure Techniques are the most used in cases of phobias, anxiety disorders or similar disorders, and consist of expose and confront the person to their source of fear and anxiety.
As anxiety reduces, the person learns to manage their emotions, while reconfiguring their cognitive and thought processes, thus overcoming their fears.
2 Systematic Desensitization
Systematic Desensitization is another of the classic techniques in the cognitive-behavioral approach and also consists of exposing the person to their stimulus that generates anxiety or fear but previously having incorporated and trained a series of adaptive response mechanisms that They act in the opposite direction, inducing a state of relaxation.
Likewise, and thanks to the application of positive behaviors in response to the stimulus, anxiety is progressively reduced and ends up disappearing, which causes a change at a cognitive and emotional level in the patient.
This is one of the techniques present in most interventions with cognitive-behavioral therapy and consists of modify the patient’s thinking patterns, identifying their maladaptive patterns and the influence these have on their daily life.
The mechanism used in this technique is based on asking a series of questions about the thoughts, emotions or beliefs that the person has at the current moment, and analyzing the usefulness and influence of each of them on the reason for the consultation.
This technique aims at cognitive restructuring, that is, for the person to eliminate negative or maladaptive thoughts that are the origin of their discomfort.
4. Modeling Technique
The Modeling Technique consists of that the patient observes the behavior, activity or interaction that he wants to learn in another person and takes his model as an example of performance.
This technique can be applied live, it can be dramatized or performed using virtual reality techniques.
5. Stress Inoculation
Stress Inoculation consists of help the patient understand how stress can affect them and subsequently providing them with a series of cognitive and behavioral tools and strategies to cope with stressful situations and get used to what makes them afraid.
The objective of this technique is for the person to train each of the tools offered by the therapist and learn to overcome stressful situations without blocking themselves.
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