Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies and Evidence-Based Practice

In cognitive-behavioral therapy, there is no concept of the unconscious because all thought patterns are readily available. Emotions play a central role in CBT; it is not accurate to say that CBT focuses only on cognitions and behaviors. Emotions are critically important because the emotional experience provides rich information about the quality of a person's thought patterns and beliefs. Emotions also provide cues or signals that a "faulty" cognitive schema or pattern is in place and in need of review.

Over the past few weeks, you considered information regarding empirically supported treatments and evidence-based practice. By now, you probably appreciate the value of researching interventions in support of one intervention as being more or less effective than another in treating a specific presenting problem, diagnosis, and/or population. You already completed assignments connecting both empirically supported treatments and evidence-based practice to short-term psychodynamic therapy. This week, you study evidence-based practice from a cognitive-behavioral perspective and explore empirically supported treatments for this theoretical orientation. Remember, it is important to think about the criteria used to measure treatment outcomes when you are using research to assess effective interventions. You will find that cognitive-behavioral therapies and interventions are well documented in empirically supported treatments and evidence-based practices.

Discussion

Give an explanation and analysis of three benchmarks/observable measures of client success when using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Then link these measurements to the CBT conceptualization of how psychopathology or "problems in living" occur. Provide specific examples and justify the examples with research.