Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Mindfulness

The systematic positive reinforcement is one of the cognitive behavioral therapy techniques in which certain (positive) behaviors of a person are rewarded with a positive reinforcement. A reward system is established for the reinforcement of certain positive behaviors. Just like positive reinforcement helps in encouraging a particular behavior, withholding the reinforcement deliberately is useful in eradicating a maladaptive behavior.

In this technique, the patient is asked to recall a problematic situation of the past. The therapist and patient work together to find out the solution to the problem or a way in which the difficult situation if occurs in the future may be sorted out.

It is one of the CBT techniques in which the therapist tests the validity of beliefs or thoughts of the patient. Initially, the patient is allowed to defend his viewpoint by means of an objective evidence. The faulty nature or invalidity of the beliefs of the patient is exposed if he is unable to produce any kind of objective evidence.

Among the different CBT techniques used by therapists, the aversive conditioning technique makes use of dissuasion for lessening the appeal of a maladaptive behavior. The patient while being engaged in a particular behavior or thought for which he has to be treated, is exposed to an unpleasant stimulus. Thus, the unpleasant stimulus gets associated with such thoughts/behaviors and then the patient exhibits an aversive behavior towards them.

It is one of the cognitive behavioral therapy techniques in which the therapists performs role-playing exercises which are aimed at responding in an appropriate way to overcome difficult situations. The patient makes use of this behavior of the therapist as a model in order to solve the problems he comes across.

The homework is actually a set of assignments given by therapists to patients. The patient may have to take notes while a session is being conducted, review the audiotapes of a particular session or he may have to read article/books that are related to the therapy..

It is the practice of maintaining a diary to keep an account of the situations that arise in day-to-day life. The thoughts which are associated with these situations and the behavior exhibited in response to them are also mentioned in the diary. The therapist along with the patient reviews the diary/journal and finds out the maladaptive thought pattern and how do they actually affect the behavior of an individual.

The objective/purpose behind using this technique is to help the patient and enable him understand his cognitive distortions.t.

This is also known as NLP reframing, is a psychological technique that consists of identifying and then disputing irrational or maladaptive thoughts. Reframing is a way of viewing and experiencing events, ideas, concepts and emotions to find more positive alternatives. In the context of cognitive therapy, cognitive reframing is often referred to as cognitive restructuring. Cognitive re-framing, on the other hand, refers to the process as it occurs either voluntarily or automatically in all settings.