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Counselling Skills
Cognitive behavioural theory
Aaron Beck was the founder of cognitive behavioural theory. The theory focuses on
how people think and how their thoughts influence the way that they behave.
Definition
‘Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an action-oriented form of psychosocial
therapy that assumes that maladaptive, or faulty, thinking patterns cause
maladaptive behaviour and ‘negative’ emotions. (Maladaptive behaviour is
behaviour that is counter-productive or interferes with everyday living.) The
treatment focuses on changing an individual’s thoughts in order to change his
or her behaviour and emotional state.’
Source: The Free Medical Dictionary
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/cognitive-behavioral+therapy
When working with patients suffering from depression, Beck found that they
commonly experienced a deluge of negative thoughts that presented themselves
spontaneously. He called these ‘automatic thoughts’, and discovered that their
content fell into three categories:
1. Negative ideas about themselves
2. Negative thoughts about the world
3. Negative thoughts about the future.
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