______________________ Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Theory, Techniques, and Applications, 3rd Edition
Schueller et al. (2022) estimates that between 10,000 and 22,750 mental health apps exist, most without professional guidance for users. Although mobile technologies and appli- cations are integral in our daily lives, most providers have received no training in utilizing them in their practice. Five core competencies have been recommended for utilization and integration of mobile app care, including evidence, integra- tion, security and privacy, ethics, and cultural considerations (Schueller et al., 2022). Research on the impact of CCBT mobile health apps on quality of patient-provider relationship found that stand-alone apps did not enhance patient-provider relationship, increase client accountability, or between-session provider support (Lan et al., 2018). CBT-related apps frequently offer cognitive restricting, meditation, breathing exercises, games, social features such as chatbots, and links to resources. Health issues addressed with positive efficacy include anxiety, stress, depression, sleep issues, and insomnia (Majd et al., 2020), eating disorders, panic disorder (Oh et al., 2020), postpartum depression (Jannati et al., 2020), depression and anxiety in patients with cancer (Ham et al., 2019), and mental health promotion (Uwatoko et al., 2018). Some CBT-related apps utilize virtual reality for prin- ciples of systematic desensitization and exposure, for example with acrophobia (Donker et al., 2019). Other CBT apps utilize scenarios to intervene directly with dysfunctional thoughts. For example, clients recognize automatic and negative thoughts of people within a scenario, writing advice to them and reading advice provided by other app users (Hur et al., 2018). Rathbone and colleauges examined the effectiveness of CBT- related mobile apps for treating diverse mental health issues. Researchers assessed eight randomized controlled trial designs, with comparisons made to control groups in three studies and other forms of treatment in five studies. Results supported the short-term benefits of using CBT-related mental health apps for a wide range of mental health concerns. Recommendations for future research included the need to examine longer-term effectiveness (Rathbone et al., 2017). Overall, research supported the utilization of virtual indi- vidual and group CBT modalities and apps for a wide range of conditions, including anxiety (Shabahang et al., 2021; Kar et al., 2020; Molino et al., 2022; Lv et al., 2021; O’Bryan et al., 2022; Wahyuni et al., 2022), depression (Komariah et al., 2022), grief (Boelen et al., 2020; Schrauwen, 2021), sleep and insomnia (Cheng et al., 2021), eating disorders (Waller et al., 2020), healthcare worker stress (Weiner et al., 2020), patients with COVID-19 (Liu et al., 2021; Zheng et al., 2021; Chen et al., 2022; Araghi et al., 2022; Mohammadi et al., 2022), suicide prevention (Rojas et al., 2022), parenting (Korpilahti et al., 2022; Byrne et al., 2022), CBTp for psychosis (Kopelovich & Turkington, 2021), youth anxiety and depression (Uysal et al., 2022) and COVID-related stress (Aminoff et al., 2021).
CONCLUSION Cognitive therapy is versatile and has been empirically shown to be effective for several psychological conditions. At its core, cognitive therapy is based on the premise that an individual’s thoughts and perceptions about life events are fundamental to their emotional experience of such events. There are sev- eral techniques that can be used in the practice of cognitive therapy. The application of these techniques is driven by the therapist’s case conceptualization and is individually tailored to match each client’s unique needs. As a time-limited approach to care, cognitive therapy sessions comprise an expected structure within which the therapist and client work together. It is important to remember that cognitive therapy does not seek to mitigate all emotional distress or relieve the client of all suffering. Through collaborative empiricism, Socratic dia- logue, and guided discovery, the therapist and client employ conceptualization-driven techniques to reduce distress and facilitate more adaptive functioning and coping. Cognitive therapy and associated interventions may appear deceptively simple to the untrained learner; however, cogni- tive therapy is a complex process. As cognitive therapy is the foundation for second- and third-wave therapies, it is helpful for the therapist to focus on securely developing fundamen- tals to help with the nuanced understanding and application of third-wave approaches virtually and in-person. To do so, therapists may want apply cognitive therapy to their own dif- ficulties, not only to gain an understanding of what the client may go through but also to be aware of their own problematic or distorted thoughts, as such factors strongly influence the therapist’s ability to provide therapy. Distorted thoughts and beliefs belonging to the therapist can be as problematic in therapy as those belonging to the client. Cognitive therapy’s ethical and appropriate practice requires in-depth training and supervision from a qualified behavioral health professional.
WORKS CITED https://qr2.mobi/cognitive-behavioral-tt
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EliteLearning.com/Psychology
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