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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper provides an overview of the process involved in CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, especially as it relates to the therapeutic relationship. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MH11_MHCBTCri.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Traditionally, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been based on a therapeutic relationship of collaboration, in which the therapist and client act in concert in the development and implementation of a
treatment plan. Critics of CBT have argued that this type of therapeutic approach neglects the therapeutic relationship, and the outcomes of this approach are sometimes brought into question as
a result. Assessing both views of the importance of the therapeutic relationship and existing criticism of the CBT process provide a means of assessing this assertion. Niolon (1999) argues
that the therapeutic relationship is a fundamental structure created by the actions of a therapist and client based on definable roles. Niolan (1999) states that typical therapeutic relationships are
based on factors like the constancy of a therapists interest, suspension of moral judgment, a therapists empathic response, the ability of the patient to speak what had been unspeakable, and
the use of the therapist as a transference object without the interference of counter transference. One of the criticism of behaviorism in general and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy specifically is
that there is a rejection of the therapeutic relationship, because the therapist acts as a "social reinforcement machine" or an "engineer of behavior" (Niolon, 1999). The basis for
this criticism is linked to the CBT process and the application of CBT in changing problematic behaviors. CBT focuses on the fact that both cognitive and behavioral elements can
define the response of the individual, and that behaviors can be as problematic as thought patterns in defining responses that are damaging, difficult or unmanageable. Rather than focusing on
the therapeutic relationship as the basis for the necessary behavioral or cognitive change, the CBT approach is linked both to behavior management techniques and changes in thought processes. Some
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