Cognitive

Theory: Cognitive

Theorists: Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck

Focus: Cognitive therapy focuses on the impact that thought patterns have on behavior and emotions.

Strengths: Cognitive therapy helps the client to identify and change negative and/or irrational and detrimental thoughts and change the way they think about things. Cognitive therapy can help relieve psychological and emotional issues even if the situation itself is not changed. This therapy is also generally effective more quickly than other types of therapy, and strides can be made in fewer sessions.

Weaknesses: This therapy focuses mainly on changing thought patterns and less on addressing the origin of negative thought patterns, which left unattended to, may remain an issue and cause other problems later on.

Techniques: Cognitive therapy looks to the thoughts that lead to negative behaviors and emotions, and then analyzes how those thoughts can be changed, avoided, or rationalized in order to create more positive and functional behaviors and emotions. The therapist provides the client with the skills to identify irrational thoughts and replace them with more rational, constructive ones. Homework is often assigned to the client in order to identify where these issues arise and practice implementing the skills they are learning.

Personal example: A friend of mine suffers from social anxiety. When she is out in public around people she does not know, she gets worried that people are secretly making fun her, talking about her, or are preoccupied with what she is doing, wearing, saying, etc. She learned to identify when she was having these irrational thoughts, and to remind herself that she is getting paranoid and self-conscious, and that in reality the people around her are usually not even aware of whatever it is that she is concerned about. By replacing her irrational thoughts with more rational and realistic ones, she is able to calm herself down and enjoy herself rather than getting anxious and paranoid.