Paper Example on CBT: Overcoming Challenges to Achieve Goals

Introduction

My theory of choice is cognitive-behavioral therapy. CBT focusses on solving problems by changing the thoughts and belief systems, which also affect feelings and actions. People that are exposed to the same external factors respond differently to very similar situations. Sometimes people raised in disadvantaged environments can overcome the challenges to achieve major accomplishments while others in almost identical environments tend to achieve much less. Similarly, people at vantage points can ruin their chances of success at life even when factors tend to favor them. CBT works on the ABC system, which argues that there is always an activating event that forms some belief systems that eventually turn into cognitions that shape the lives of individuals.

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People that are anxious or depressed tend to relate current situations with previous experience, which is also an activating event. For example, when a person loses an important person in their lives, they can believe that they cannot continue living without that person in their lives. Eventually, these beliefs start to shape and affect other tenets of their lives. These emotional problems require people to develop new ways of coping positively, or else they will develop psychological issues (Coyne et al., 2019). During the initial stages, I focus on understanding what the client feels, what they would like to change, and when exactly the problem started. Some of the issues can trace their roots back in the childhood years and are influenced by attitudes formed over several years. Part of the counseling process requires the client to focus on moments that they solved their problems more effectively, and also trying to find out attitudes, beliefs, and beliefs that cause them more problems (Bedics, 2019). In group therapy, role-playing can be used by group members to help each other discover new ways of solving their problems.

My Philosophy

My philosophy in life is that if the mind can conceive it, the body can achieve it. I once attended a seminar, and the speaker encouraged us to dare to dream. According to the speaker, one had first to imagine themselves in the best version of themselves, and that way, they can become motivated to chase their dreams and change their lives. A major reason why I like the theory is that it works with most emotional problems, including behavioral issues. People with social anxiety or those with disorders such as Autism can have difficulties leading normal lives, but with CBT therapy, they can adopt newer behaviors that make it easier for them to succeed in other areas of their lives (Don et al., 2019).

I believe that people desire to become the best version of themselves in every aspect of their lives. No one wants to fail, have no social support, or live anxious and depressed. However, people can also be the slave of their minds, especially when they acquire negative cognitions and beliefs about themselves. Perception determines an individual's interpretation of an event in their lives, which in turn affects them negatively or positively. Sometimes, people can feel as if life is treating them unfairly, but the reality is that bad things happen to everyone. Sometimes, people that are undergoing very difficult moments may not display this inner turmoil in the least way.

As a counselor, I do not recommend people concealing their true and innermost emotions. Instead, I encourage individuals to search within themselves to find out the actual reason behind their feelings. Things that elicit positive emotions should be encouraged, while those that bring negative emotions need to be addressed ((King & Boswell, 2019)). Individuals also need to understand that they cannot always or, in most cases, control people or events around them, but they can control themselves, their feelings, and how they deal with such situations.

Nature of Change

I believe that change begins when a person recognizes and admits that there is a problem that needs to be solved and that the current mechanisms are not currently working. Transformation is also very personal, and while the counselor helps the client to make the necessary changes, a counselor is simply a guide who helps the client to discover their path. The drug addiction process depicts this scenario. First, the client is in the pre-contemplation stage, which means that they have no idea that they have a drug problem that requires to be addressed. Next, they move to the contemplation stage where they realize they are addicted, but at this stage, they are not ready for change, and so on. During therapy, a client can also relapse even after full recovery (King & Boswell, 2019). Therefore, changing behaviors can be difficult, but the ultimate goal is to maintain these newly acquired behaviors.

Nature of Problem

Another important aspect of change and a major strength of the CBT theory is that it focusses on the present and the current problem(s). One of the many stances that I have come across and that has impacted me, and my practice is that the past can affect the present, but it is not the problem. Theories like the psychodynamic theory study the person's development and try to explain current behaviors with events that occurred during their development stages. Another vital goal for counselors is focusing on the goal and not deviating from what the client wants to achieve. No matter how much the client tries to justify their problem behavior, both the counselor and client should keep in mind that change is necessary.

Nature of People

It is for the same reason that as a counselor, one has to understand the motivating factors for change. Some motivational factors are extrinsic, while others are intrinsic (Forman & Moyers, 2019). For example, a client referred by HR for counseling is extrinsically motivated by financial needs and the need to keep their job. However, the person can also be intrinsically motivated to rebuild their relationship with close family members and friends.

Motivational interviewing is also quite strategic in helping clients realize the need to change their thought processing, which in turn influences their beliefs, cognitions, feelings, and actions. I also like the technique because it helps the client to clarify the reason why they are pursuing counseling, and what aspects of their lives require change. Notably, the goals change along the counseling process, and both the client and therapist should review these goals constantly. At the beginning of therapy, short term goals and long term goals must be set against a specific timeframe that keeps both client and therapist in check (Forman & Moyers, 2019). These goals must always remain the focus for both counselor and client to helps them stay in line.

Therapeutic Goals

As a counselor, my main goal is to help the client to regain total and full control of their lives. In counseling, personal relationships often interfere with the performance of the counselor. Clients can become dependent on the counselor, and the counselor can become overly involved in the client's life. However, the purpose of counseling is to help the client adopt new beliefs, thoughts, and behavioral patterns that they can develop and apply outside the counseling sessions.

Another goal of counseling is to help clients understand the cause of their problems and how the beliefs and thought systems affect their feelings and actions. When clients acknowledge how they contribute to their problems, how events affect them, and how they can change these factors, they become less affected by such events. For example, clients with co-occurring disorders must understand the relationship between anxiety and drug abuse. Notably, these disorders tend to feed on each other, which makes it difficult to deal with one at a time (Coyne et al., 2019). Such disorders were traditionally addressed independently, but it has been established they be handled consecutively. Moreover, a person must be clean during therapy.

Another goal is to establish a trusting relationship with the client. Therapy requires that the client becomes vulnerable to the counselor, and clients cannot do that if they believe that the counselor cannot be trusted. A simple way of achieving this is putting the needs of the client first (Forman & Moyers, 2019). In some cases, the client's experiences can have a cinematic effect. Still, it is always important to remember that the counselor should only concern themselves with details that are instrumental to the client's recovery process. Asking questions for the sake of curiosity can prove detrimental to the client-therapist relationship and interfere with the recovery process.

Techniques

Some of the techniques that I like using with this theory include cognitive reframing, journaling, thought recording, and role-playing. Cognitive reframing helps clients to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. CBT works on the premise that negative thoughts cause negative emotions that, in turn, influence behaviors(King & Boswell, 2019). Therefore, by helping clients realize some of these faulty belief systems and negative thought patterns, clients can acquire positive thoughts that will also help them change their problem behaviors. For example, clients with anxiety might believe that if someone they think does not like them greets them in the morning, they will have a bad day. As a counselor, it is important to help the client realize that first, their fear is based on the assumption that the person does not like them, and also understand that the person does not have supernatural powers that can interfere with their day.

Another technique that I enjoy in both individual and group therapy or group counseling is role-playing. In role-playing, the counselor can take the role of a significant other in the client's life and help them understand the nature of problems, especially regarding relations. Communications therapy requires that both parties clear misunderstandings and also conceive the other person's perceptions or views as far as their relationship is concerned. Often, significant others can have hidden feelings that interfere with how they interact with others (Coyne et al., 2019). For example, a daughter that feels that her father does not care about her will evade the father's effort to make a connection with her. In turn, this kind of behavior might elicit anger and frustration from the father. If these feelings are not discovered and put out there, these two people will have limited chances of having a healthy relationship.

Journaling and thought recording is also another effective technique. In this technique, clients can record thoughts and consecutive behaviors. By so doing, the client can determine their negative thought processes and how they affect their emotions as well as behaviors. From these records, the client can also identify negative thought processes, enabling them to stop these thoughts when they start to manifest (Forman, Moyers, 2019). Similarly, the client will be able to control their emotions and behaviors in the process. Notably, negative thought processes can encourage anxiety and depressive symptoms, and also trigger relapses for drug abusers.

Role As a Therapist

As a therapist, my role is that of a guide to the client. Since therapy is intended as a short term intervention in mild psychological problems, the counselor should not direct the client by instilling their beliefs and demanding certain action plans from the client. Instead, the counselor should guide the client into a process of self-realization and problem-solving skills. Many problems do not have a one-size-fits-all solution, and one approach can work with a certain issue...