Kielee Sumners

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a type of psychotherapy. Unlike traditional

psychotherapy, which often focuses on experiences and events people have had, often in their

childhood, CBT focuses on correcting wrong thinking patterns. It is also often coupled with

medication. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy treats the symptoms of depression and improves

mood by changing dysfunctional behaviors and thoughts. Patients are encouraged to change their

thinking or thinking errors, and also modify their behaviors. Traditional psychotherapy often

delves into the experiences people have had and how those experiences inform their behaviors,

thoughs and feelings. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, by contrast, focuses mainly on changing

thought patterns. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy was first used by Aaron Beck in the late 1960s.

He observed, during therapy sessions with patients, that many of them engaged in what appeared

to be internal conversations in their heads. They did not always share all their thoughts with him,

however. He realized there was a strong connection between people’s thoughts and feelings, as

well as between their thoughts and their behaviors. He determined that if people could be more

realistic, rather than having automatically negative thoughts, they could then change their

feelings and behavior. Because Cognitive Behavioral changes thinking, as well as the resulting

behavior, it is a shorter-term type of therapy than more traditional therapies. Many traditional

therapies look to find the underlying cause of depression and anxiety, rather than replacing

negative thinking patterns with more positive ones. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy also does not

rely exclusively on pharmaceuticals to change mood. I am interested in Cognitive Behavioral

Therapy because I am curious about how changing the way individuals think can change the way

they act. I am specifically interested in how this therapy might work with children who have

behavior problems.
 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps a child improve his or her moods, anxiety and

behavior by examining confused or distorted patterns of thinking. The therapists teach children

that their thoughts cause feelings and moods which can influence behavior. While CBT takes

place, the child will learn to identify harmful thought patterns. Therapist that will help the child

replace this thinking with his or her thoughts that result in more appropriate feelings and

behaviors. This does not happen overnight, but it can be a much faster form of therapy than

traditional therapy. Identifying and changing thinking errors is used as a means of changing

behavior, which is the outcome being sought.

Therapy can be performed by a variety of mental health professionals. Licensed

psychologists, social workers and counselors. You have to have an education of at least a masters

degree in a related field and adequate experience in the specific therapy to provide Cognitive

Behavioral Therapy to a client.

There are many types of therapy. Some can be individual CBT, group CBT, with parents

and medication CBT. Individual cognitive behavioral therapy focuses only on the child or

adolescent and includes one therapist who teaches the child the skills they need to overcome his

or her challenges. This form of CBT has been proven effective in the treatment of child and

adolescent depression and anxiety disorders, as well as substance abuse in adolescent.

Group cognitive behavioral therapy includes not only the child or adolescent and

therapist in the therapy sessions, but also others outside of the child or adolescent social groups.

Usually new acquaintances who are also being treated for the same disorder that the child is

facing. Those in the group therapy are often dealing with similar behavioral issues and, unlike

individual CBT, the group format allows helpful relationships to form, in addition to learning

skills needed to change behavior. Group CBT is often less expensive than individual CBT, and
more broadly available. It has been proven effective in the treatment of depression and substance

abuse in adolescents. Because the clients in group CBT groups are often dealing with similar

behavioral issues, the therapist can use a unified approach to changing thinking patterns in the

clients. When the children or adolescents see that their peers are dealing with similar patterns of

incorrect thinking, they may be more motivated to change the way they think in order to change

the way they behave.

Cognitive behavioral therapy that includes parents in the treatment process has been

shown, through research, to be effective in treating children with anxiety disorders. Also

specifically, CBT that teaches parents techniques to help care for anxious youth, including

psychoeducation, individual therapy, caregiver coping, and parent training techniques are

especially helpful. In this form of therapy, the parents are involved directly in the treatment of

their children and are essentially trained in ways to help them handle their children’s fears at

home in many situations. Parents who have been trained and are equipped with techniques to

help their children re-set their thinking in the midst of a crisis, can be very effective at helping

their children manage their anxiety.

Research has shown that pairing cognitive behavioral therapy with psychotropic

medications can be effective in treating a child’s anxiety symptoms or depression. A child’s care

team will be able to prescribe the right medication if he/she believes it to be necessary in the

child’s therapy process. Coupling the appropriate medication with CBT can promote recovery for

many children.

There are other ways cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be used to treat or help

individuals who have thinking errors. This includes trauma focused CBT, which was developed

to help those who are affected by trauma. This kind of therapy can help with PTSD as well as
other traumsa the child has experienced. This kind of therapy can range from 6-20 sessions with

the parents present. The things this therapy will look at is factors of the child’s traumatic

experiences, including cognitive and behavioral issues and depression or anxiety symptoms. It

helps improve parenting skills and parents’ interactions with their children to help support and

cope with their child's struggles.

Another way Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is conducted, is by having CBT paired with

Motivational Enhancement Therapy. Motivational Enhancement Therapy motivates adolescents

to internally change their behavior. When paired with group therapy it is effective in changing an

adolescent’s behavior towards drug and alcohol abuse. This therapy uses discussion, coping

strategies and motivational interviewing principles to help the youth initiate a plan to change his

or her behavior and motivate the youth to follow through. Throughout the sessions the therapist

will guide the youth though their plan to stop using substances and will continue to motivate

them to stay on track and keep going back to look at their plan. The end result is changed

thinking and changed behavior.

There are a variety of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approaches that can be used.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is considered to be a short term therapy ranging from 8-16

sessions. Some of the techniques include guiding self-statements (stop, think, act), verbal self-

instructions (what are my options to solve the problem), modeling, role playing and,

reinforcement for using the CBT skills the child has been learning in therapy.

Children of the age 6-7 can benefit from CBT. The child who participates must have the

ability to understand concepts such as self-talk and self-instruction which are generally seen in

older children. However, if a younger child has the means to understand his or her thinking and

is sophisticated enough to engage in the therapy, it can be beneficial. The benefits to CBT are
similar to the benefits of behavioral therapy. Receiving emotional support, appropriately dealing

with stress and frustration and improved performance at school, at home and social situations are

just a few of the benefits.

There are many different types of therapy available. When looking for a relatively short

term type of therapy that can effectively change thinking patterns and behavior, CBT is a wise

choice. It can be coupled with drugs to enhance the effects of therapy, but overall, it is a positive

approach to improving the thinking and behavior of children, adolescents and adults.

Sources Cited

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“Cognitive-Behavior Therapy.” My Child Without Limits RSS, United Cerebral Palsey, 2018,

www.mychildwithoutlimits.org/plan/common-treatments-and-therapies/cognitive-

therapy/espanol-terapia-cognitiva-del-comportamiento/.

“3 Top Cognitive Behavior Therapy Techniques.” 9 Facts About Telepathic Communication -

Operation Meditation, Operation Meditation, operationmeditation.com/discover/3-top-cognitive-

behavior-therapy-techniques/.

“In-Depth: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.” Psych Central, Psych Central, 4 Apr. 2018,

psychcentral.com/lib/in-depth-cognitive-behavioral-therapy/.