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Cognitive Behavioral Intervention Approach
As a psychotherapeutic model, the cognitive behavioral approach addresses the cognitive processes, dysfunctional emotions and maladaptive behavior through goal-oriented systematic procedures. The critical element with the approach is the acknowledgement that human behavior cannot be controlled only by rational thought. Therefore, cognitive behavioral approach is an action-oriented and problem specific model aimed at helping clients. The discussions in this paper will explore the cognitive behavioral approach by demonstrating its models, procedures, effectiveness as well as limitations of the approach with EBD children. This paper will illustrate the relationship between emotions, thoughts and behavior, with the cognitive behavioral approach.
The models of cognitive behavioral approach are varied approaches that focus on impacting on the cognitive nature of the clients. One of the models is the Problem-Solving Therapy which focuses on teaching clients on two ways of solving a psychological problem (Yell et al, 2013). First is the skills are to define the problem and to explore the goals that lead to desired results. The use of this model in handling children with EBD would help them to discover possible solutions to the problem.
The journal therapy is a model that involves writing the thoughts and feeling by a client in order to explore the problems and discover the understanding of oneself. This approach helps clients to know and accept their situation by invoking the cognitive process of thinking and express their emotions in writing. For instance, through the pouring of the situations on the paper also helps to create awareness to a student with an EBD on the causes of the problem and the need to solve it.
The mindfulness therapy is perhaps the most appropriate cognitive behavioral approach that can be applied to children with EBD. According to Yell et al (2013), this approach focuses on helping the client to avoid the negative thoughts and embrace the good thoughts. This helps a client to accept the situation, whether good or bad and so concentrate on the good thoughts about the situation. This approach can help children with EBD to focus on the good side of their education and benefits of studies. This helps them to solve the causes of EBD by replacing them with good thoughts.
The cognitive behavioral approach involves a number of procedures relating to the model applied. In the case of a self instruction, intervention model of cognitive behavioral approach, the teacher can follow these procedures to change the target behavior. First is self monitoring where a student is required to record the procedures and observations of a particular behavior or a set of behaviors (Yell et al, 2013). Another procedure is to review on the self-monitoring procedure and explore its impact on the educational tasks. Yell et al (2013) argues that this will help a student to recognize any positive behaviors or behavior change. Self evaluation is another procedure that helps a student to understand his or her progress towards a target behavior.
The Approach Components
The Cognitive Behavioral Approach embraces three main components, namely; the emotion, thoughts and behavior. The process of thinking, expressing emotions, and the behavior of people is all significant in the cognitive aspect of a person (Capuzzi & Gross, 2003). The cognitive interventions therefore involve the techniques and procedures that impart on the emotions, thoughts and behaviors by influencing them from the undesired to the desired behavior.
Emotions are the conscious experiences that have subjective experiences that are characterized by the psycho-physiological expressions and reactions of biological and mental nature. Considered as reciprocally related to moods, personality and temperament, emotions are highly associated with the arousal of the nervous system (Parrott, 2003). The nervous system arousal affects the thought system of a person that leads to the influence of emotions on the behavior of a person. However, the emotions lead to behavior without necessarily involving rational thoughts despite arousing the nervous system. Emotions are therefore complex aspects that influence the behavior of human beings as well as the thought systems.
Thoughts are arrangement of ideas that emanate from the cognitive process of thinking. Thoughts underlie human actions by allowing an individual to interpret, or make sense of the ideas, experiences and events that tend to influence behavior (Capuzzi & Gross, 2003). Through thoughts, an individual creates the basis of acting, thereby creating the elements of behavior. Thoughts are therefore important aspects of interpreting the emotions of a human being, thereby controlling the influence of the emotions towards the behavior. For instance, students with EBD can be taught how to control their emotions and anger through self-regulation created by thoughts. (Yell et al, 2013).
Behavior is the resulting mannerisms that result from the actions of a human being. Conscious or subconscious, voluntary or involuntary, behavior is influenced by the nervous system or the endocrine system (Parrott, 2003). This means that emotions and thoughts are significant influences of the actions of a person that contribute to behavior. Therefore, behavior is shaped by the thought systems and emotions that an individual engage in.
Effectiveness and Limitations
The cognitive behavioral approach is effective in solving the problems experienced by clients by invoking their thinking systems, emotions and behavior. The cognitive behavioral approach is particularly effective in helping children with EBD to learn how they can manage their academic as well as their non-academic behaviors (Yell et al, 2013). This helps in the reverting of the behavior of such children by helping them to understand their emotions and the behavior associated with the emotions.
The cognitive behavioral approach is effective in the methods applied to control behavior. For instance, the use of self management instruction and verbal meditation are important in the development of student behavior (Rowand, 2007). The self instruction for examples is a procedure that helps students with EBD to observe their own record of behavior that reinforces their behavior.
However, the use of cognitive behavioral approach is limited by the teacher’s involvement in the procedures that should be solely done by students. This can happen when the teacher does the thinking for the student instead of leaving the student to think and examine his or her situation (Yell et al, 2013). This explains the importance of using problem-solving aspects and help students to apply self- management for them.
Social Skills and Curriculum Development
One of the most relevant information on teaching social skills relating to the cognitive behavioral approach is problem-solving and management of the undesired behavior. Therefore, the elements and skills of managing stressful situations such as anger management, stress management and self-evaluation should be considered in the development of the curriculum as basic social skills (Yell et al, 2013). The same skills should be imparted to educators on the training of teachers by including them in the curriculum (Rowand, 2007). The curriculum should be designed to anticipate the challenges in the handling of behavior in children with EBD. Therefore, the curriculum will incorporate the elements of the cognitive behavioral approach as social skills. Therefore, a curriculum should be prepared in a manner designed to teach students and children with cognitive skills and social skills that will make them prosaically competent.
References
Capuzzi, D. & Gross, D. R. (2003). Counseling and Psychotherapy:Theories and Interventions; Third Edition. Indianapolis: Merrill Publishing Company
Parrott, L., III. (2003). Counseling and psychotherapy (2nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson/Brooks/Cole
Yell, M. L., Meadows, N. B., Drasgow, E., & Shriner, J. G. (2013). Evidenced Based Practices for Educating Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Second edition. New York: Pearson Education, Limited
Rowand, T. R. (2007). Cognitive Behavioral Interventions: Strategies to Help Students make wise behavioral choices. Beyond Behavior, v17 n1 p7-13 Fall 2007