Example: Joe fails his economics exam and thinks "I am such a failure; I'll never manage to get through this degree; the rest of my life is ruined". As a result Joe (1) feels depressed, (2) withdraws himself, (3) renders himself helpless and his situation hopeless and (4) drops out prematurely from his studies.
Alternatively, if Joe was able to think in a more helpful and realistic manner and consider the following thoughts such as, "oh well, I failed, but then who hasn't? This is a real inconvenience, but is it really a catastrophe? I could certainly learn from my mistakes and try again; this isn't the only thing I can study or do with my life", then he'd be more likely to (1) feel sad or disappointed but not feel depressed, (2) not withdraw himself or (3) not give up prematurely.
His disappointment would be considered healthy and may actually help motivate him to try harder next time. This fictitious account provides for a typical example of how our emotional and behavioural reactions to difficult circumstances are determined to a large degree by the way in which we think about our circumstances, and not merely by those circumstances themselves. In other words, Joe's emotional and behavioural reaction is determined by how he thinks about the fact that he failed, and not solely his failure.
CBT theory proposes that if we are able to identify those thinking and behavioural patterns that are contributing toward our distress, restructure and alter these, then one would be better equipped to reduce or eliminate psychological distress. The CBT model thus encourages "emotional responsibility" by encouraging individuals to identify and alter the way in which they think so as to feel and react in a more appropriate way. This also provides for a more optimistic view regarding the potential for human beings to alter their emotional and behavioural reactions to difficult circumstances. The model proposes that individuals can effectively and successfully influence their own emotional well-being, irrespective of the situation with which they are confronted.
CBT is practical, goal orientated and based on objective, measurable
concepts that have been verified scientifically (empirically). For instance,
behaviour can be observed, measured and studied, as can thought, which
we are typically able to articulate through language. Scientific investigation
has shown that our thoughts are very much associated with our emotional
states and behavioural reactions and that restructuring of our thoughts
typically alters the way we feel. Thousands of well designed, peer-reviewed
research papers have verified the central tenets of CBT. CBT-based intervention
is based on what we now know works regarding the treatment of a wide variety
of psychological disorders. There is ample scientific evidence that
CBT is effective in the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety disorders,
interpersonal problems, eating disorders, substance-related problems,
psychotic disorders, impulse control disorders, insomnia and behavioural
problems. Treatment is often based on a specific protocol, with brief,
direct, and time-limited treatments for specific psychological disorders.
Behaviourism or the behavioural model can be traced back to the nineteenth century where behavioural theory began to take shape. Behaviourism proposes that all things that organisms do can be considered behaviours that can be observed, measured and scientifically described. Behavioural theory thus focused only on measurable phenomena such as behaviour, and sought to intervene with psychological disturbance by shaping healthier behavioural patterns. Behavioural theory and intervention initially included concepts such as classical (i.e. Pavlov) and operant (i.e. Skinner) conditioning and typically proposed that behaviour can be learned or unlearned depending on the consequences associated with it. Behaviour therapy became widely utilized throughout the first half of the 20th century and was influenced by the work of individuals such as Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson and subsequently Skinner. Wolpe, originally South African, utilized scientific findings derived mainly from animal research in his development of what then became known as 'systematic desensitization'. This approach acted as the precursor to current day fear reduction techniques, commonly now known as 'exposure therapy'.
It was not until the 1960s that the cognitive model began to gain momentum. The therapeutic approaches of Albert Ellis' Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and Aaron Beck's Cognitive Therapy (CT) provided the foundation for the cognitive aspects of CBT as we know it today. Both Ellis and Beck emphasized the role of cognitions or beliefs as underlying emotional and behavioural disturbance. CBT, as it is known today, essentially refers to a broad range of cognitive and behavioural theories and associated theory-driven intervention strategies that have co-occurred under the umbrella of CBT since the 1980s and 1990s.
- Cognitive therapy seeks to identify, evaluate and restructure dysfunctional
beliefs that are considered central to emotional disturbance and self-defeating
behaviour.
- Behavioural techniques are utilized as a means of reducing emotional distress, altering dysfunctional behaviour and restructuring cognition.
The theoretical position taken by the cognitive model proposes that if
we are able to identify the most relevant thoughts or beliefs underlying
our unwanted emotional and behavioural reactions, re-evaluate them and
replace them with more appropriate alternatives, then we will most likely
feel and react in a healthier, more appropriate way. The key in cognitive
therapy lies with being able to identify the most appropriate beliefs
that need to be targeted.
Novice and inexperienced CBT therapists and clients will often struggle
to identify the most clinically relevant beliefs. Just because a belief
co-occurs with an emotion or behaviour, does not necessarily mean that
it is the most relevant belief perpetuating that emotion. Identifying
the correct cognitive content or process is thus important. In addition,
what Beck has referred to as intermediate or core beliefs, and what Ellis
has referred to as core evaluative beliefs that are often more entrenched
and more difficult to change, are often present but not verbally articulated
and thus need first, to be uncovered. Cognitive therapy thus often initially
involves the uncovering of such attitudes, assumptions, rules and core
beliefs prior to any sort of intervention. Once identified, the most clinically
relevant beliefs are typically evaluated as either helpful or unhelpful
and then replaced with healthier alternatives. This is referred to as
'cognitive restructuring' or 'cognitive disputation'. Clients
are then often required to work at implementing these new ways of thinking
within their natural environment so as to strengthen the influence of
these healthier ways of thinking. The mechanisms of change are however
not quite as linear or simplistic as many seem to think, and behavioural
changes may often also lead to cognitive changes. For example, once we
have done something that we were previously afraid of doing, we often
tend to no longer think of it as dangerous or threatening. The process
of changing one's beliefs or behaviours often requires a great deal of
time, dedication, practice and perseverance, but it is certainly possible
and tremendously empowering.
| EXAMPLE 1: PANIC DISORDER | ||
| A - ACTIVATING EVENT | B - BELIEFS | C - CONSEQUENCES |
| Driving on the N1 in the car.
Slight increase in body temperature + the thought - "what if I have a panic attack". |
"I have to control this
anxiety". "I'm not in control of myself". "I will have an accident" |
Increased Anxiety & Panic
Pull car over Use of a tranquiliser Avoid driving on the N1 |
| |
||
| EXAMPLE 2: OCD | ||
| A - ACTIVATING EVENT | B - BELIEFS | C - CONSEQUENCES |
| Sitting in the kitchen with a loved one, close to a large knife and the thought "what if I stab my wife" pops into my head | "This is an abnormal thought
that I shouldn't be having". "This thought makes me dangerous". "Thinking this increases the chance of acting on it". |
Anxiety Guilt Shame Escape from Room Prayer to get rid of thought |
| |
||
| EXAMPLE 3: DEPRESSION | ||
| A - ACTIVATING EVENT | B - BELIEFS | C - CONSEQUENCES |
| Recently rejected by a boyfriend. Feeling sad and disappointed |
"I should have been able
to prevent this if I was good enough." "If I was a worthwhile partner then this wouldn't have happened." "I'm unlovable." "I can't handle feeling this way" "I'm never going to find someone" |
Depressed Socially withdrawn Ruminating about why this happened. |
| |
||
As an example, many individuals who struggle with assertiveness are often inhibited by intense guilt about the way in which others may feel in response to their decisions. While having sensitivity to other's feelings is certainly admirable and quite appropriate, feeling intense guilt about others' feelings is often unhealthily inhibiting. In such a situation, one would typically want to reduce the likelihood of feeling guilt and shift such an emotional response to something more moderate and tolerable such as regret or disappointment. Guilt in such a situation would typically be fueled by beliefs such as "I must never do anything that others may not like" or that "I am personally responsible for others feelings".
Regret on the other hand, would be based on more flexible, realistic beliefs such as "while I'd prefer to always make decisions that others are happy with, there is no rule that states that I have to always place others satisfaction above my own and I am not personally responsible for others' happiness". Such a shift in belief allows one to be sensitive to others feelings, but not see their reactions as always more important that what may be in ones own best interest. Such a restructuring of one's thinking would thus help to reduce the presence of unnecessary guilt and enable one to then act in a more assertive manner, thereby also addressing the practical problem.
Below is a table of positive emotions, healthy negative emotions and unhealthy negative emotions:
| POSITIVE | HEALTHY NEGATIVE | UNHEALTHY NEGATIVE |
| Calm | Concern | Clinical Anxiety |
| Joy | Sadness | Depression |
| Excitement | Annoyance | Clinical Anger |
| Relief | Regret / Remorse | Guilt |
| Euphoria | Disappointment | Shame |
| Inspired | Disappointment | Hurt |
Simultaneously, behaviour may often also be targeted during intervention, but this is often (but not always) secondary to the initial emotional goal. Many behavioural interventions target specific behaviours without any initial emotional goals. This would typically be the case with substance related problems, procrastination, habit related disorders like tics, skin picking or trichotillomania, and insomnia. Behavioural reactions associated with depression or anxiety-related problems may often also be targeted directly, with a change in one's emotional state being seen as secondary to this. For instance, prolonged exposure to feared situations tends to result in a decrease in anxiety and becoming more actively involved in pleasurable activities tends to reduce feelings of depression.
- Whether they are merely subjective opinions or based on some sort of objective evidence that suggests that they are more like facts than mere opinions. In other words, are they in line with reality?
- Whether they help us to achieve our emotional or practical goals or result in self-defeating emotional and behavioural reactions.
- Whether they follow logical reasoning.
Thoughts that (1) do not follow logical reasoning, (2) that represent
subjective opinion as oppose to being based on factual evidence and that
(3) are likely to lead to excessive emotional arousal or self-destructive
behaviour are considered dysfunctional, inaccurate or irrational. It is
these sorts of thinking errors or dysfunctional beliefs that are identified
and targeted throughout intervention. What we now know is that specific
sorts of cognitive errors are associated with specific emotional states
and behavioural responses. Well trained CBT therapists would often be
able to help their clients quickly identify which clinically relevant
beliefs are perpetuating their problem.
A variety of different dysfunctional beliefs have been identified and
conceptualized as contributing toward various forms of psychological distress.
Ellis, Beck and others have proposed somewhat different beliefs and belief
systems responsible for psychological disturbance. Beck typically considers
cognitive errors to be responsible for emotional distress and Cognitive
Therapy tends to focus mainly on the attributions or meanings that individuals
make about themselves, others or the world in response to specific situations
or stressors. Ellis' REBT model (Ellis & Harper, 1961) proposes that
four specific types of beliefs, otherwise known as evaluative beliefs,
underly psychological distress. These are further described below.
- Demands, result from our tendency to take healthy preferences or desires
and turn them into unrealistic, perfectionistic, rigid and absolute
rules and expectations of one's self, others or the world. Demandingness
is typically reflected in language which incorporates words such as
'must, ought to, should, have to and need'. A typical demand associated
with performance anxiety would be, "I absolutely must do well in
that exam and at the very least end up in the top three in my class".
- Awfulizing, which reflects an exaggeration of the badness or negative
consequences associated with a particular situation or event such that
a bad, inconvenient or uncomfortable situation is seen as terrible,
horrible or awful. For instance, "It would be terrible if I didn't
do well in my exam. It will be the end of my studies and I'll never
be able to achieve anything in my life".
- Low frustration tolerance (LFT) beliefs typically stem from demands
for ease and comfort, and reflect an intolerance of discomfort or frustration.
For example,"I would not be able to handle failing that test; I
couldn't stand the embarrassment. That, would be intolerable".
- Global evaluations of human worth, either of self or others, refer to a set of beliefs that imply that our value and worth can be objectively rated and that some people can be evaluated as objectively worthless (including yourself) or at least less worthy than others. Typically, individuals neglect merely judging their behaviour or performance (which is objectively possible) and end up judging their entire selves instead. For instance, "I would really be a complete failure and a worthless idiot if I were to fail this test".
Almost all clients present for psychotherapy as a result of some sort of an emotional or behavioural problem that may be affecting their ability to function in some way or another.
Emotional problems would include examples such as:
- depressed mood
- anxiety
- intense frustration
- anger
- jealousy
- guilt
- shame or
- hurt
Behavioural problems that either accompany such emotional problems or occur as primary presenting problems would include examples such as:
- procrastination
- substance abuse
- aggression
- avoidant coping
- unassertiveness
- ineffective communication
- trichotillomania (hair pulling)/skin picking or
- tics
- defiance or oppositionality
Even when clients present with a practical problem that they feel they
need help with (e.g. domestic abuse, indecision, dealing with difficult
people), there is always some sort of emotional or behavioural hurdle
that makes it difficult for them to implement a practical solution.
Any good CBT intervention is based on an initial assessment and understanding
of the presenting problem. This is aimed at arriving at a diagnosis and
conceptualization upon which treatment is determined. Both psychotherapists
and therapy-seeking clients would do well to be patient in ensuring that
the primary concern is fully understood before embarking on any sort of
intervention. Far too often treatment begins without a thorough conceptualization
of the problem. This would typically result from the following factors:
- an inadequate assessment process,
- inadequate theoretical understanding of the presenting problem (on the part of the therapist),
- vital information being withheld by the client during the assessment phase, or
- impatience in starting with intervention on either the therapist or client's behalf
Conceptualizing the problem would typically entail the identification of the following factors that may be contributing toward the problem and it's maintenance:
- predisposing or historical factors (relevant childhood experience, personality factors, core beliefs, genetic/familial history, pre-existing medical/psychiatric conditions)
- precipitating factors (recent stressors/events that may have contributed toward the development of the current emotional or behavioural problem)
- perpetuating factors (environmental factors/behaviours/beliefs) that are responsible for the maintenance of the problem.
- protective factors (beliefs, behaviours, strengths and social support) that assist the client in dealing with this problem.
Treatment should thus be based on a conceptualization of the problem
based on the above-mentioned factors. Treatment strategies essentially
target those factors (often maintenance or perpetuating factors) that,
if altered, would result in remission of the most pressing emotional and
behavioural symptoms.
In CBT, certain specific beliefs and behaviours are typically seen as
central to the maintenance of emotional and behavioural problems, and
a variety of strategies and techniques are utilized in altering such beliefs
or perceptions. Altering certain behavioural reactions is often also of
central importance. The primary difference between CBT and other psychotherapy
approaches is that CBT conceptualizes psychological disturbance in this
way, and sees faulty or dysfunctional thinking as central to such disturbance.
One of the primary criticisms that CBT has of other therapeutic approaches
is that non-CBT approaches typically use models for understanding psychological
problems that are based on abstract and unmeasurable concepts and phenomena
upon which treatment strategies are based, for which there is often little
empirical (scientific) support. Beliefs and behaviours are measurable
concepts which can be altered through intervention. There is now ample
evidence from research to suggest that if one identifies and targets the
correct beliefs and or behavioural patterns associated with such emotional
or behavioural disturbance, then intervention is likely to be effective
and psychological disturbance likely to diminish.
The assessment of someone who presents with panic disorder would, for
instance focus greatly on identifying the catastrophic misappraisals associated
with what they fear may result from their panic, for example "I could
have a heart attack" or "I could lose control of myself or go
crazy". It would also seek to identify the escape or avoidance behaviours
accompanying the individual's anxiety, as well as the use of 'safety'
behaviours aimed at preventing anxiety or panic. Such escape or avoidance,
or the use of safety behaviours are typically targeted during intervention
as a means of disproving one's inaccurate predictions about the threat
of panic. The assessment of someone who presents with depression would
often focus initially on the most recent and pressing set of circumstances
that may have triggered the depressive episode together with the thoughts
or beliefs that the individual has about the meaning of these events.
Assessment would be aimed at developing a cognitive conceptualization
of how these factors interact together. Therapists would also want to
assess for avoidant behaviour or withdrawal, which is often based on lethargy
and a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. Such behavioural inactivation
is considered as a perpetuating factor for depressed mood as it reduces
the opportunity for perceived accomplishment or pleasure.
MOTIVATIONAL ENHANCEMENT AND PSYCHO-EDUCATION
With certain emotional (primarily anger) and behavioural problems (procrastination,
substance abuse and aggression), time may initially be required for motivational
enhancement as clients with such presenting problems are often not sufficiently
motivated, prepared or committed to begin immediately with active intervention.
Clients with anger problems often blame their anger on the world as oppose
to their reactions to it; and individuals with substance abuse or addiction
problems often initially present as a result of the pressure of loved
ones. Individuals with mood and anxiety disorder symptoms typically need
less motivational enhancement as the discomfort of their symptoms is already
sufficient to enhance motivation for intervention. Such individuals may,
however, require some assistance in preparing for the often difficult
but worthwhile challenges that effective treatment will require. For instance,
those suffering with anxiety symptoms are often encouraged to 'face their
fears' in very specific and structured ways for the sake of disproving
them. Individuals with panic disorder are often prepared to get used to
the physical sensations that normally trigger panic for the sake of learning
that these do not result in any of the catastrophic outcomes that the
individual is afraid of. Those with OCD may be encouraged (as a part of
prolonged exposure and response prevention) to purposely think the thoughts
that they would normally try to suppress or discard. Such intervention
strategies are, however, often difficult for clients to engage with, and
a fair degree of motivational enhancement is often necessary for clients
to appreciate the long-term benefits thereof.
Psycho-education involves the explanation of the therapist's conceptualization
of the problem and an explanation of which factors would need to be targeted
throughout intervention in order for treatment to be effective and remission
to occur. This is an important stage in the treatment process as the requirements
of treatment become clear and this assists clients to prepare for intervention,
in addition to providing the platform for the client to discuss his/ her
concerns with the therapist who can then assist in allaying fears or further
enhancing motivational readiness.
Subsequent to diagnosis, conceptualization and the development of a treatment
strategy, therapists and their clients should be in a position to discuss
the expected length of intervention and exactly what it would entail.
Referral for medication to a general practitioner or psychiatrist may
be indicated depending on the nature and severity of the presenting problem.
INTERVENTION
Active intervention is usually focussed on reducing distressing emotional
states and/or self-defeating behaviour. Most sessions would begin with
an assessment of the primary clinical problem, be it mood or behaviour,
from the preceding week. This would typically be followed by a discussion
of the therapeutic homework assignment that may have been set for the
preceding week. The session is then governed by an agenda set collaboratively
by the therapist and client. The majority of the active work throughout
the session typically involves a great deal of collaborative and interactive
discussion between the therapist and client that is aimed at identifying
specific beliefs perceived to underly the primary clinical problem.
Once identified, these beliefs are usually evaluated for their accuracy
and helpfulness or inaccuracy and unhelpfulness. More helpful and functional
beliefs are then identified and discussed with respect to their potential
in alleviating emotional distress and/or reducing destructive behaviour.
Therapeutic homework assignments are often aimed at testing out certain
inaccurate beliefs or practicing the implementation of new functional
ways of thinking. Good CBT therapists will not only spend time with their
clients developing new, helpful ways of thinking, but will also set specific
tasks aimed at helping clients implement such alternative philosophies.
CBT is thus as much a "doing therapy" as what it is a "talking
therapy". The reality is that "talking" often results in
little progress if it isn't simultaneously accompanied by an alternative
way of "doing". Therapeutic sessions may also involve a considerable
degree of discussion about adopting different behavioural reactions that
may assist in reducing depressed mood, anxiety, hair pulling (in trichotillomania),
cravings for illicit substances or managing perpetuating factors in insomnia.
Homework assignments may thus also involve the adoption of alternative
behavioural reactions.
It is however recognised that depressed mood may well be normal under certain circumstances, such as in the case of bereavement. CBT therapists would not target intense emotion that is perceived as appropriate but may well target the irrational beliefs that individuals have, that may lead to unhealthily avoidant ways of coping with such an emotion. For example, those struggling to allow themselves to grieve the loss of a loved one may be avoiding such emotion as a result of misperceptions such as "feeling depressed and being tearful means that I'm a weak person and that I will crumble if I allow myself to feel this way". The goal of CBT is thus to assist individuals in reducing excessively intense emotional states (e.g. depression/anger) that are disabling, and replace these with an emotional experience that is more manageable, less disabling and associated with more appropriate behavioural activation (e.g. sadness/disappointment/frustration).
As of 2011, no formal minimum training standards are provided for CBT therapists in South Africa and there is no formal national CBT organization or training standards committee. It may thus be most helpful to consider psychotherapists as belonging to 1 of 4 categories with respect to their proficiency and experience in using CBT:
(1) No experience or interest in the use of CBT as a therapeutic model.
(2) Some interest in and experience with the use of CBT.
(3) Primarily uses CBT as a therapeutic approach and has significant experience in using CBT, has attended international conferences and workshops in CBT but does not have any specific international certification as a CBT therapist.
(4) Internationally certified CBT therapists, with specific qualifications based on supervised practice by an international training standards committee.
It is most probably wise, when seeking a therapist who provides CBT to
try and assess which of the above-mentioned categories they may fall into.
Many therapists will report that they use CBT, but few have actually had
specific supervised training in the model and many do not provide cutting
edge treatments for specific disorders. In addition, it would also be important
to check whether or not the therapist has specific experience in your area
of concern. For instance, an individual may have plenty of experience in
working with anxiety or depression, but little experience or expertise in
treating tic disorders, insomnia or psychosis, for example. Below is a list
of reasonable questions that one could ask a therapist prior to making an
appointment or during an initial appointment aimed at assessing their experience
with CBT.
QUESTIONS FOR DETERMINING A THERAPIST'S LEVEL OF EXPERTISE WITH CBT
Have you received any training in CBT?
Training could vary from an introduction during a Masters-program to an
internationally certified qualification.
Did your training include individual supervision of case material from
an experienced or internationally certified CBT therapist?
It is important to distinguish between theoretical training and practical
supervised training that includes individual supervision in the use of CBT
in working with clients.
Does your CBT training include international certification from an international
training standards committee?
Typical international certification is from the Beck Institute or the Albert
Ellis Institute. Other training centres in the USA and the UK also exist.
How many years experience do you have in practising CBT?
We all start with little experience and build our knowledge base. It would
be wise not to doubt a well trained and supervised CBT therapist with 1
or 2 years experience. It however goes without saying that those therapists
with greater practical experience, bring the expertise accumulated from
this experience to helping you.
In what way do you use CBT in your practice?
Many people will tell you that they integrate CBT into their practice. This
typically would entail using skills or techniques from more than one theoretical
orientation at the same time. This approach is known as eclecticism. This
is not unethical nor an unacceptable practice. Should you look for a CBT
therapist specifically, this is obviously not the type of service provided
by a therapist with an eclectic approach. Therapist will also tell you that
they use different theoretical approaches to treat different clients and
problems. This is also an acceptable approach, it would however be important
to determine if the therapist is sufficiently trained in CBT and if the
therapist would suggest CBT for your specific problem.
Ask if the therapist has training in the CBT treatment of your specific
disorder.
It important to know that the therapist has disorder specific training in
the condition that you require help with.
Ask the CBT therapist to explain the specific treatment to be employed
to treat your specific condition.
Inform yourself via recognised CBT websites about the newest treatments
available and the researchers responsible for the development of this treatment.
You will find a list of helpful links to international CBT training and
research facilities on our website (www.cognitive-behavioural-therapy.co.za).
The table below provides a short summary of the most prominent treatment components associated with modern-day CBT. These core treatment components would typically be accompanied by standard treatment components such as psychoeducation, motivational enhancement and relapse prevention.
| DIAGNOSIS | CBT TREATMENT COMPONENTS | PROMINENT RESEARCHERS/ AUTHORS |
| Panic Disorder | Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness, Interoceptive and Situational Exposure | Barlow Craske Clarke |
| PTSD | Cognitive Restructuring, Prolonged Imaginal and Situational (in vivo) Exposure | Foa Ehlers & Clark Resick |
| Social Phobia | Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness, Interoceptive and Situational Exposure | Heimberg Clarke and Wells Hoffman, Albano |
| Obsessive Compulsive Disorder | Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness, Imaginal or Cognitive or Situational Exposure and Response Prevention | Foa, Abramowitz Salkovskis, Rachman, Radomsky, Piacentini, Whittal |
| Phobias | Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness, Interoceptive and Prolonged Situational Exposure | Ollendick and Ost |
| Generalized Anxiety Disorder | Cognitive Restructuring, Meta-cognitive Therapy, Mindfulness, Imaginal/Cognitive Exposure, Situational (Uncertainty) Exposure | Wells, Dugas, Ladouceur, Borkovec |
| Depression | Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness, Behavioural Activation, Behavioural Assignments | Beck, Hollon, Freeman |
| Insomnia | Cognitive Restructuring, Sleep Hygiene, Stimulus Control, Graded Sleep Restriction | Edinger, Carney |
| Tic Disorders | Mindfulness, Awareness Training, Habit Reversal, Cognitive Restructuring | Woods, Piacentini |
| Schizophrenia | Activity Monitoring, Behavioural Activation, Cognitive Restructuring, Behavioural Assignments/Evidence Gathering | Kingdon, Beck, Turkington, Grant |
| Bipolar Mood Disorder | Psychoeduction, Cognitive Restructuring aimed at Enhancing Adjustment, Mood Awareness Training, Stimulus Control, Cognitive Restructuring, Relapse Prevention | Basco, Rush, Otto, Knauz |
| Anger Related Problems | Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness/Relaxation Training, Situational Exposure | Di Giuseppe, Tafrate, Kassinove |
| Substance Related Disorders | Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness, Stimulus Control, Urge/Interoceptive and Situational Exposure, Contingency Management, | Carrol, Miller, Rollnick, Petry |
| Compulsive Gambling | Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness, Stimulus Control, Urge Interoceptive and Situational Exposure, Contingency Management | Ladouceur |
| Habit Disorders (Skin Picking, Trichotillomania) | Mindfulness, Stimulus Control, Habit Reversal, Acceptance Practices | Woods, Piancentini, Tolin, Franklin |
| Borderline Personality Disorder | Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Schema Therapy | Linehan, Young |
| ADHD (Adults) | Behavioural Intervention aimed at enhancing Organization and Planning, Reducing Distractibility, Reducing Procrastination. Cognitive Restructuring | Safren, Otto |
| Anorexia Nervosa | Behavioural Planning aimed at Weight Gain, Systematic Exposure, Motivational Enhancement, Monitoring, Cognitive Restructuring, | Fairburn, Wilson, Agras |
| Bulimia Nervosa | Psychoeducation, Motivational Enhancement, Monitoring, Stimulus Control, Cognitive Restructuring, Urge Tolerance and Mindfulness | Fairburn, Wilson, Agras |
| Hypochondriasis | Cognitive Restructuring, Mindfulness, Imaginal/Cognitive Exposure/Situational (Uncertainty) Exposure and Response Prevention, Interoceptive Exposure | Salkovskis, Barsky |