CBT in Family and Individual Setting

he Assignment:

Respond to at least two of your colleagues by recommending CBT strategies to overcome the challenges your colleagues have identified. Support your recommendations with evidence-based literature and/or your own experiences with clients. In APA Format and proper citation, provide at least two references for each response post.

Response post #: 1

CBT in Family and Individual Setting

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in family therapy is targeted at identifying behavioral goals, learning theory techniques to achieve those goals, and social reinforcers to facilitate achievement.  Wheeler (2014), described Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a collaborative method between the therapist and the patient involving psychological analysis, reality checking, and problem solving.  CBT is the most commonly studied psychotherapeutic model that has been proven to be effective in coping with multiple emotional and behavioral disorders, making it suitable for various patient environments and demographics, including adult, group and family environments.

In the assessment process of CBT for Family Therapy, the aims are to recognize person or group strengths and challenges, position individual and family activity in the framework of developmental phases, and define cognitive, emotional, and behavioral elements of family members interaction that may be targets for intervention.  In a family session, information is gotten from various sources and perspectives, making it easier for the therapist to define a pattern and see the family dynamics in action.

After enough information has been compiled by the therapist to formulate a care plan, a meeting will take place with the group and priorities of change will be set and the interventions will be discussed.  Members of the family affect one another, and their actions cause other members’ behaviors. During this counseling it is important to pay attention to the attitudes, emotions and cognitions of the individuals linked to the question, the group’s acts towards an individual, the collective reactions of the family members towards an individual and the characteristics of the family relationships.

CBT in Family and Individual Setting 1

Focuses on the perceptions of the patient during patient CBT and how the person reacts, thinks, or acts. Individual CBT places importance on primary and secondary thinking, processing and changes in behavior. The goal of therapy is to restructure the way a patient responds or reacts to a given stimulus or problem.

One difficulty therapists face when using CBT in the family environment as opposed to individual environments is that one or more family members may reject the therapeutic interventions and hinder the progress of other family members and the unit.  Situations arise when family members don’t follow therapy recommendations.  Especially in the treatment of patient’s who have manipulative tendencies, some family members are enablers in the patient’s bad behavior.  It is important for everyone to follow therapist recommendations which may be, minimal phone calls to the patient in treatment, restraining from providing favors that may affect with the treatment process to the patient and providing feedback to the treatment team on maladaptive behavior of the patient to the team.

Response post #: 2

According to Dobson & Dobson, (2018) Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is evidenced-based and fits with the current social and cultural demands of the mental health field. In our today’s society, the emphasis is placed on independence, individualism and the ability to have control over things. CBT is based on an educational model, and the goal of therapy is to help clients unlearn their unwanted reactions and to learn a new way of reacting. CBT is time-limited, and a sound therapeutic relationship is necessary for effective therapy, but not the focus. CBT explores organization and wholeness. It posits that a family works as a unit, that is, the adjustments in each participant is reliant upon all others. Although Behavioral, cognitive therapy can be used in both group and individual setting, they possess significant differences and challenges in their application.

 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in an individual setting

CBT in Family and Individual Setting 1

Individual therapy allows for the therapist to work with the client and create an individualized plan of care that addresses the needs of the client including the family component and social skills training whereas; there is less time to create treatment plans that are uniquely tailored in a group setting (Patterson, 2014). With individual CBT, clients are able to see the connection between feelings and behavior and to understand the causes of their symptoms. The homework regarding individual CBT is adapted to individual needs, thereby reinforcing motivation. During my clinical rotation, I met clients with anxiety disorders who effectively used role play procedures, coping modeling, affective education, awareness of bodily anxious reactions, relaxation techniques and other cognitive-behavioral techniques to successfully deal with their anxiety.

 

Challenges counselors might encounter when using CBT in the family setting

 

In a group setting, it is very challenging for the therapist to develop a good working therapist-client relationship. In a group setting much time is spent implementing, educating and designing plans rather than bonding with the clients. One challenge of utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in the family setting is that sessions require participation from all those who are affected, this includes subsystems. Another challenge for with families being treated with CBT is that members should have all basic needs satisfied before proceeding with such intricate therapy. Supportive therapy may need to be considered prior to CBT. Family members should be intellectually prepared for CBT. In order for the process of family CBT to be therapeutic all individuals must make progress during sessions. If one family member fails to make improvement, this could jeopardize the entire therapeutic process. According Wheeler (2014), it is very important to obtain a good assessment because the main point of assessments is to gather information regarding the strengths and problems of each family member.

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