Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy
Similarities and Differences
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT is a type of therapy that is widely used today. It's focuses include a good relationship between client and therapist, the setting and monitoring of goals, and cognitive restructuring. Cognitive restructuring is where the client learns to take their irrational beliefs or thoughts and replaces them with rational ones. It also holds that these maladaptive thoughts will lead a person to feel bad which will ultimately lead to them doing bad. A way to uplift ones feelings is through the setting and reaching of goals (Corey, 2013).
Behavior Therapy
Behavior Therapy or BT's main focus of treatment is the setting and attaining of goals. The reason for the goals are to facilitate a learning environment and it is also a way to see if the therapy is working. The underlying theme is that a behavior needs to be changed or modified and that can be done by a number of ways such as conditioning and desensitization (Corey, 2013).
Similarities
Both CBT and BT stress the importance of the client in their own treatment experience. They both are centered around using goals as a way to determine how effective the therapy is. These goals are something that should be clear, precise, and actually attainable because setting a goal that is not readily attainable is a surefire way to set ones self up for disappointment (Corey, 2013)
Differences
There are many similarities between CBT and BT. The difference in the two is how they are going to reach the end goal. Which is a modification in ones behavior. In CBT the restructuring of cognitive thoughts and processes is key whereas in BT they are more focused on using techniques, like systematic desensitization which would slowly allow a behavior that would have been hard to do, more manageable. Eventually to the point that the actual behavior has been totally modified (Corey, 2013).
In Practice...
I think that in the case of procrastination that CBT would work better than the use of BT. First the therapist would work with the client to set small attainable goals that relate to the doing of homework at a proper time and not. First it might be something really small, but something that will get the ball rolling that the client can be proud of and work off of. Along with the setting of goals, there would undoubtedly be cognitive restructuring which would replace the beliefs that a person has which were irrational with ones that are totally rational and would help this person with their problem (Corey, 2013).