blog




  • Essay / Cognitive behavioral therapy: origins and history

    CBT is a modern talking-based therapy that has gained popularity in recent years, largely because there is a broad base of research evidence and of clinical practice to prove that it is an effective therapy. for a wide range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviors. This report seeks to describe the origins and history of CBT before reviewing and analyzing the main tools and techniques used in CBT. There is ongoing development and this therapy continually evolves to ensure that the methods remain effective as society evolves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay It can be argued that the origins of CBT are rooted in ancient Greek times. Socrates began asking questions to help and encourage people to think through problems in order to find a rational solution, very similar to CBT today. It actually gives its name to a CBT tool which will be discussed in a later section. Indeed, pioneers in the development of CBT, Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis, have emphasized that their approach is rooted in Stoic philosophy from Greek times. The 17th century philosopher René Descartes was the first to emphasize the relationship between the mind and the body. He viewed the two as separate entities and the mind as the source of the soul. He wrote about their interaction and realized that the mind could control the body, although he believed this was due to animal spirits that moved through the body and controlled the nerves and muscles. Before the 18th century, mental health problems were considered “insanity.” possible treatments came from alchemy, astrology, and the belief systems of spirits or gods. Originating from philosophy and biology, psychology emerged at the end of the 19th century as a unique discipline for examining the human mind and behavior. The first psychology laboratory was opened by William Wundt at the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1879. This allows experimentation to measurably prove hypotheses rather than basing theories on beliefs which makes psychology a science. The emergence and development of the behaviorist stream of psychology occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1890, Pavlov conducted experiments with dogs. He noted that the dogs salivated when he and his assistants entered the room, even though they had no food. Pavlov measured the amount of saliva produced by dogs when presented with food. He used a bell as a neutral stimulus and rang the bell every time food was given to the dogs. After this was repeated several times, Pavlov discovered that the bell alone would trigger levels of salivation similar to those seen when dogs were given food. The dogs had learned to associate the bell with food. This conditioned response is known as a Pavlovian response and the linking of a conditioned response (in this case, the bell) to an unconditioned stimulus, such as food, is known as Pavlovian conditioning (1902). As the name suggests, behaviorism focuses on observing the behavioral response to external stimuli. At this point, it was thought that it was impossible to examine the mind scientifically, so the focus was on measurable behavioral responses. Indeed, Watson said that the stimuli only.