Personal Reaction Paper on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Personal Reaction Paper

What are your initial reactions when you first learned about this theory?

The counseling theory that I choose is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). My initial reaction when I first learned about this theory, I felt that this theory quite unique and caught my attention. This is because CBT can help the client to manage their problems by changing the way they think and behave. This theory is commonly used to treat anxiety and depression person but also can be useful for other mental and physical health problems. I felt like I want to learn this theory more and explore it deeper. I also realize that when I learn about this theory, I felt so excited compared to other theories. After the lecture, I learn about this theory on Google and YouTube to understand more. I think that if I use this theory in my session for my client, they can slowly change from the person who always overthinking to the person that can think rationally about their issues in life. I think this theory fits me very well.

Does this theory closely fit your view of human nature? How does this theory fit with your own personal values?

Yes, this theory closely fits my view of human nature. This theory can teach clients to think in a less negative way about themselves and their life. This theory also aims to teach people that it is possible to have control over their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This theory also can help a person to challenge and overcome automatic beliefs and use practical strategies to change or modify their behavior. Personally, I am a person who always overthinks about myself. Sometimes I always feel insecure and embarrassed to face people because of my appearance. I also cannot think rationally when this situation happened. So, after I study CBT theory, I try to apply this theory in my daily life, and Alhamdulillah I can control myself to think, behave and feel more rational than before this. I also use Socratic questions in many situations when I feel less confident. For example, before I need to present my part in a group presentation, in fact, I was feeling a bit anxious and nervous, but I would try my best to calm down. I will tell myself that I do not need to think nonsense, this is one of the lessons in study and there must have benefits to me in the future. After that, I can present with more confidence. So, if I can use this theory with my client, I will be more relieved because I can share with my client the way to think more rationally which actually can bring a lot of benefits to them. But I also must remember that not everybody has good thinking and suit this theory. I will apply this theory depending on what client's issues.

Does this theory fit with your own belief about how change occurs in peoples’ lives? Which is most important: changing emotion, cognition, or behavior?

Yes, this theory fits with my own belief about how change occurs in peoples’ lives. The reason is CBT theory can be good for anyone who needs support to throw unhelpful thoughts that are preventing them from reaching their goals or living the life they want to live. This strategy brings about immediate positive changes in a client's quality of life. In my opinion, if a person often used CBT in their daily life, it can change the way they think. So, this also can change their mood from bad to good in the short-term also in the long-term. Numerous research studies suggest that CBT leads to significant improvement in functioning and quality of life. In many studies, CBT theory has been demonstrated to be as effective as, or more effective than other forms of psychological therapy or psychiatric medications. (Society of Clinical Psychology,2017). My own view which is most important is changing cognition. This is because in my opinion, what we feel or what we do after a situation happens, is caused by what we think or the way we think about it. People think of our negative thoughts as our ‘inner bully’. These thoughts are a part of ourselves and come from a specific part of our brain. It is also trying to protect us in some way but if our negative thoughts really often happen it will make us feel worse rather than better. For example, my mother was angry at me because I did not tidy the house. I will think that my mom does not love me anymore because she is always angry at me. My emotion at that time was very sad and at the same time my behavior I will start crying. So, I want to emphasize that changing our cognition is more important because it will lead to our emotions and behavior.

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What life experiences shaped the beliefs and values that lead you to prefer this theory over another? Does this theory fit with your personality and style of interaction?

My life experiences shaped the beliefs and values that lead me to prefer this theory over another because I am the person who always overthinks about my life and myself. I am a person who is not confident with my appearance in public. In the crowd of people, I will start sweating and my heartbeat will beat so fast. I will start felt not uncomfortable and try to escape from the crowd. For example, at some event or feast, I will go anywhere with my friend to take food, find a seat, and so on. When I choose food and eat, I will think about what another person thinks about me or my appearance. I will start to lose my confidence and I was so sad because I think that other people will think that I look so ugly and pathetic. (Cognitive distortion: Labelling and Mislabelling, Mind Reading). After I finished eating, I will hurry back to the hostel before the event was over. So, when a situation like this occurs, I feel that the CBT theory very fits with my personality and style of interaction. This is because if I use this theory in my daily life, I will start thinking rationally about myself and can gain some confidence. I will try to change my negative pattern of thinking to a more positive pattern. It will be more relief to me. For example, in an event, I will try to calm down myself first and try to choose food and find a seat by myself. I will try to think that other people not judging or looking at me so just calm down and enjoy the food or I will think that my appearance is just good.

Describe a technique from the counseling theory that you have chosen.

This theory uses four basic techniques first cognitive restructuring, second cognitive-behavioral self-monitoring, third psychoeducational, and the last homework. I will describe a technique that I think is effective for many people. In my opinion, cognitive-behavioral self-monitoring is the one of effective techniques in CBT theory. This is because this technique is a practice for clients to systematically observe and record specific thoughts, for example, clients’ automatic thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviors. In a session, a counselor trained the client to bring their awareness of phenomena by identifying and noticing their emotion when they occur. For many clients, bringing attention and awareness to their thoughts, feelings or emotions will be a bit difficult but improving the client’s awareness of their symptoms and behavior is an important component of CBT technique. “Self-monitoring puts clients in charge of empirically examining their beliefs and behavior.” (Cohen et al, 2013). Self-monitoring helps clients to develop a critical awareness of their difficulties, which prepares them for change: “Awareness is a logical first step of the change process”. (Persons,2008).

What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the theory?

The strengths of CBT theory are this theory focuses on individual thoughts. Psychological disorders in many people have been found to display maladaptive assumptions and thoughts. This theory also can find the root of the problem. The thoughts of a person are the reason for both accomplishments especially behavior problems. Next, this theory gives clients hope about their condition. This helps the clients see that their thoughts are not always really accurate. When a client learns how to challenge their thoughts, they can open their minds to a new possibility. The possibility could also be very different. Besides, this theory helps people develop self-esteem and be more relaxed. When the clients start to understand how their thoughts work and how they are under control, the client’s entire belief system can change. This also can include the way clients view themselves. Lastly, this theory also develops more rational thought processes. The main benefits of CBT are to help clients control their automatic thoughts. The clients may no longer allow negative thoughts to take control but they can try to think rationally and get through the hard situation in an appropriate response.

The weaknesses of the theory are this theory not helpful for people with complex mental health conditions. The function of this theory is to make the thought process of a person from negative to positive. With complex mental health disorders, CBT might not be helpful for them. Next, CBT theory relies on the will of the clients. If the client thinks the tasks or homework given to them are difficult or did not want to do the tasks, this theory is unhelpful for them. Lastly, this theory only focuses on current issues. It only tries to handle the current issues that the client might need resolving. The approach aims to throw the negative way of thinking and try to reconstruct the positive way of thinking. However, CBT theory fails to find the whys of the issues.