Other Therapies

As can be seen, the area of cognitive behavior therapy involves a wide collection

of therapeutic approaches and techniques. The approaches described

here are but a representative sample of possible cognitive behavioral approaches.

Also included within this domain are anxiety management training,

which comes from the work of psychologist Richard Suinn, and personal

science, from the work of psychologist Michael Mahoney.

The cognitive behavioral approaches are derived from a variety of perspectives,

including cognitive theory, classical and operant conditioning approaches,

problem-solving theory, and developmental theory. All these approaches

share the perspective that internal cognitive processes, called

thinking or cognition, affect behavior, and that behavior change may be effected

through cognitive change.

These approaches have several other similarities. One is that all the approaches

see therapy as time-limited. This is in sharp distinction to the traditional

psychoanalytic therapies, which are generally open-ended. The cognitive

behavior therapies attempt to effect change rapidly, often with specific,

preset lengths of therapeutic contact. Another similarity among the cognitive

behavior therapies is that their target of change is also limited. For example,

in the treatment of depression, the target of change is the symptoms of depression.

Thus, in the cognitive behavioral approaches to treatment, one sees

a time-limited focus and a limited target of change.