Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - Essay Example Caring for patients with mental and behavioral disorders requires integration of clinical skills, professional knowledge, interpersonal skills and experiences. The central activity in practice is therefore, that of using ‘self’ as the means of establishing and attaining effective nurse-client relationships. Consequently, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the change interventions that rely on collaborative and therapeutic relationship and empowering with the treatment outcomes dependent on active participation of the client. The central idea in CBT is that all behavior (normal and abnormal) is attained and sustained ways that are identical (Whitfield, 2010). This is consistency with the principles of learning theory, which emphasizes on the role of operant and classical conditioning. The extensive evidence base of CBT is well documented and recommended as a treatment modality with clear guidelines for best practices (Whitfield, 2010). Although reflection plays a critical role in CBT, it has been conspicuously absent in CBT literature leading to misconceptions that CBT therapists don not reflect (Wright, 2006). With this background, this paper demonstrates that nurse students and CBT therapists use various methods such as self-reflection, self-supervision, and reflective journals as well as a variety of data from multiple sources such as CBT literature, client presentations and self-reflections to reflect on their learning and practice. According to the International Institute for Cognitive Therapy, CBT is a psychological approach that relies on scientific principles of which research has shown effectiveness towards diverse range of problems (International Institute for Cognitive Therapy, 2014). CBT intervention encompasses approaches such as cognitive therapy (CT), and rational emotive therapy (REBT). CBT