By: Kimberly Swanson, PsyM, LAPC, CNA
According to
Grand Canyon University (2014), reality therapy is used to assist clients with
having the capabilities of being responsible and to own the consequences for their
behaviors. Reality therapy is focused on
the client identifying prosperity which creates positive behaviors and the
belief in personal accountability (Glasser, 1998). Usually, this type of therapy is used when
someone is exhibiting counter-productive behaviors (e.g. drug addiction, gambling issues, etc.)
Whereas
cognitive and cognitive behavioral therapy are often used and defined
interchangeably. There are many benefits when using Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy in comparison to behavioral therapy.
Behavioral therapy (BT) utilizes approaches that confront the clients
with their issues whereas with cognitive therapy (CT) the client addresses
their issues through self-discoveries about their misconceived views,
counter-productive behaviors, and mental processing (Grand Canyon, 2014). Another benefit is that with CT the client
gets to see how their mental processing can cause problems and their personal
directives can be the contributing factors of their pain and suffering.
There are four
goals and interventional strategies that will be used to assist the client in
reaching their goals. The four goals are (Archer & McCarthy, 2010): 1. The client develops their truth; 2.
Cognition leads to causes and reactions; 3. Cognition is knowing that there is knowledge
and that it can be accessed; 4.
Cognitive transitions are the center point of changing human behavior.
Cognitive
Behaviors Therapy stems from Aaron Beck’s previous study on depression which
showed that clients tend to view certain situations in a negative light, which
causes mental distortions that need to
be addressed in therapy (Sharf, 2008).
Cognitive therapy is an organized technique that is limited with a time
and focuses on the here and now (Grand Canyon University, 2014); this type of therapy is
designed for short-term counseling.
Cognitive
therapy is a technique that requires collaboration in which the counselor and
the client work together to recognize the mental patterns and builds a
therapeutic foundation for intervening through various outcomes (Grand Canyon
University, 2014). Counselor assists
client in utilizing certain mental strategies; these mental strategies include
bibliotherapy and assigning certain homework or tasks for the client to engage
in and to be a part of (Grand Canyon University, 2014).
For Cognitive
Therapy, counselor’s roles are is to assist the client to take a look at the truths in
their lives. For instance, if a female client is overwhelmed with taking care of her newborn baby by herself due to her husband being deployed for
military duty, the counselor would help the
client to see this as truth and finding alternative ways for getting support
for caring for her child. Then the counselor would introduce the client to various resources that may be available to her as
well as assist with modifying lifestyle changes for transitioning behaviors. The client's change in behavior and lifestyle would enable her to overcome anxiety and depression due to her circumstances.
With this type
of therapy, the client has various roles.
First, the client starts to identify their misconceived views (Grand Canyon University, 2014). Then they get a chance to analyze their counter-productive
behaviors and see where they have gone wrong.
And next, they go through some mental processing to see how they can fix
their problems.
This type of therapy is best for individuals who voluntarily seek counseling. Cognitive Behaviors Therapy stems from Aaron
Beck’s previous study on depression which showed that clients tend to view
certain situations in a negative light, which causes mental distortions that
needs to be addressed in therapy (Sharf, 2008).
This type of therapy works well
with people who are suffering from anxiety and depression. And this therapeutic technique also addresses the social and cultural needs of the client; this is done by encouraging the client to self-evaluate themselves and see how their views and behaviors affect their interactions with
the world. And how they themselves can
make a change and difference through
their own actions.
References
Archer, J., McCarthy, C.J. (2010).
Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: Contemporary
applications. Retrieved from
http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_archer_theories_1/47/12099/3097483.cw/index.html.
Glasser, W. (1998).
Choice theory: A new psychology
of personal freedom. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Grand Canyon University (2014). Classical psychotherapies (lecture
notes). Retrieved from https://lc-grad2.gcu.edu.
Sharf, R.S. (2008).
Theories of psychotherapy and counseling: Concepts and Cases (4th) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson
