Mickel Hoback

CBT

The reading assignment this week covered behavior theory and cognitive theory. The text stated that behavior theory consisted of ideas about how human actions and emotions develop through principles of learning. Prior to this semester I had heard about cognitive theory and even read articles on it but had very little insight into the true inner workings of the theory. While reading through the chapters several important facts about the two theories stood out and explained the pros and cons of both, however one section of the reading jumped out at me and put the information into a whole new context for me.
In one example in chapter 7 titled Cognitive Restructuring and the Single Parent it gave a scenario of a single mother who was attending school and facing the pressures of financial hardship all the while trying to provide for her four year old child. The individual felt overwhelmed with her responsibilities and believed that her failures implied complete incompetence on her part. As I read this I thought to myself that this scenario sounded a lot like my own situation.
In chapter 7 the text described the ABC model of cognitive theory in which “A” is the activating event; “B” is the individual’s belief of the event; and “C” is the consequence. In the cognitive model it is believed that if you can change your belief or thought you can change the outcome or your feelings. This sounded a little odd when I first read this but then while going through my own individual trials I figured I would try this as I had nothing to lose. Little by little I stated to use this method and at times I actually noticed I did feel better or was not so stressed over situations which I once was. This past week I once again attempted to use this process in which I was called in for a meeting. At first I was nervous and actually a little mad at what I believed was something that did not warrant a meeting. However after changing my thoughts and looking at things differently I felt pretty good about the meeting and actually left feeling better than when I had went in. Now there has been situations in which I could not change my thoughts no matter how hard I tried but all in all this approach has had a positive impact on not only my life but also that of my daughter as now I find myself trying to implement this strategy in current situations.
I believe that both the behavior theory and the cognitive theory are diffidently something I would use with future clients. When the aspects of CBT were first explained to me I was not totally clear on how it worked and it seemed quite complicated however after having it explained to me in more elementary terms I think that anyone can benefit from the use of these two theories.