Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that assist individuals in
understanding the feelings and thoughts that influence behavior (Dobson, & Dozois., 2019). It
has shown to be effective in several disorders that include depression, anxiety and other several
mental illnesses. Several research studies conducted on the CBT that it can effectively improve
functioning and quality of life. Further studies have even shown that CBT can be effective than
therapeutic forms or the psychiatric medications (Farmer, & Chapman., 2016). The CBT
objective is always to change behavior patterns, and they use several strategies that include
facing one’s rather than avoiding them, using role play to prepare for potential problematic
interactions with other and learning how calm people’s minds.
However, not all therapists
follow, thus, strategies. The most effective way is when the therapist works together with the
patient in understanding the patients’ needs and developing solutions.
There are several forms of CBT. It can be done on an individual level or to a group of
people like the family. CBT can be conducted at the individual level is different from that at the
family level in many ways. In individual therapy, the single individual brings forth issues to the
one therapist who is expected to listen and respond to their concerns. In this therapy, the kind of
training of the therapist matter on the kind of feedback they give. Family therapy, on the other
hand, involves different approaches to families and couples is introduced with several concepts
which are dawn from the general system theory. As far as the cost is concerned, the individual
CBT is more expensive than family CBT this is because the therapist has to make several visits
to the client, especially on the cost of travelling.
I have once been in involved in personal therapy with one of my closest friends who was
struggling with alcohol addiction, which had adversely affected her education and social life. She
lived several miles away from my homestead, and I would travel every evening so that I would
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have one on one with her as effective therapy demands that the one on one is better in achieving
the desired outcome faster and is much more comfortable in collaborating with the patient to find
the solutions of the problem. I was faced with several challenges; my client expressed difficulties
in listening and even gave inappropriate responses. Additionally, travelling every day was very
costly.
Challenges that therapists go through when doing family CBT is numerous. A therapist is
limited to cause a direct impact on their clients under family CBT (Dattilio., 2017). This might
even prompt some to miss the therapy sessions or do not participate because they feel they don’t
get enough attention. Some clients agree with the principles of the therapist, but they do not
implement so they cannot alter their way of thinking (Falloon., 2015). To achieve the individual
impacts where the clients change their behavior will consume time because it will take time to
understand the thoughts and the emotions of each client. I was once involved in family therapy,
which was regularly involved in violence. The source of violence was attributed to misuse of
drugs where both the parents and the children were under the addiction to alcohol. It took quite a
long time for these clients to change. Most of them were accepting the principles, but they would
not implement, and some were missing the therapy sessions.
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References
Dattilio, F. M. (Ed.). (2017). Case studies in couple and family therapy: Systemic and cognitive
perspectives. Guilford Publications.
Dobson, K. S., & Dozois, D. J. (Eds.). (2019). Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies.
Guilford Publications.
Falloon, I. R. (2015). Handbook of behavioral family therapy. Routledge.
Farmer, R. F., & Chapman, A. L. (2016). Behavioral interventions in cognitive behavior
therapy: Practical guidance for putting theory into action. American Psychological Association.
