The author explains the importance of the patient being socialised into the cognitive model. This is highlighted throughout the book. In order for the therapy to be effective, the patient should be able to understand and apply the theory of the cognitive model to their own lives outside the therapeutic setting. The main goal of therapy is to teach the patient techniques used within the therapy for use in their life so that he/she can become their own therapist. The author gives numerous practical suggestions and sample patient worksheets and appendices and resource material for both the therapist and the patient.
The book is laid in a structured style, in keeping with the way the therapy should be approached. There is a very distinctive beginning, middle and termination of the therapy and the book is arranged with this in mind. The techniques that should be used in each stage of the process are illustrated well. It also tackles the issue of a patient relapsing after therapy and discusses the interventions necessary to prevent this.
The most important advice that the book gives to a councillor or psychotherapist is that in order for the therapy to be effective the patient must be fully involved in the process. The Author explains that in each cognitive therapy session it is necessary to bridge from the previous session, to find out how the patient found the session and use this and other information to set the agenda for the current session. The author emphasizes that problems that may occur if a patient may not be able to conform to the structure of the therapy. The patient should be able contribute to setting the agenda, and put into practise lessons learnt during the session. If the patient finds difficulties in doing this then the patient my need to be further socialised into the process.
The majority of the book is based on the fundamental ideas and theory of the cognitive therapy, and therefore I believe this book would be of use for students or therapists who don’t have a background in the area and want to gain an understanding of the therapy and use it in practice.
One criticism I would make is that the book contains a vast amount of material and I believe it could overload a reader. However, the author does highlight the important points of each chapter in a tinted grey box. This is extremely helpful way to capture the main message in each chapter and help the reader clarify the important aspects and steps of the process.
I believe there may be a need to put more emphasis on the behavioural process around the therapy. There is an aspect of behavioural procedures outlined for the patient and this is done through scheduling, task assignment and homework. However, the behavioural aspect of the therapy could be expanded and addressed in further detail because it works in line with challenging the automatic thoughts.
The author has presented the material very well, and has used one patient as an example throughout the book to illustrate the cognitive therapy in action. She uses a patient with a case of depression and uses uncomplicated examples of how the treatment would work to alleviate the symptoms and change the patient’s mood permanently. The simplicity of it allows the reader to identify with the methods that are used by the therapist and can see the workings of the therapy by seeing the way in which the patient responds and changes her thinking during the process.
My personal criticism would be, for myself, the therapy doesn’t address underlying issues that have formed the basis of the core beliefs. I know some aspects of my own negative thinking are due to deeply rooted beliefs. I can see that by changing my thinking I can alter my mood and my ability to rationalise situation and ideas in my head, and the theory does well to address the core beliefs and assumptions I hold about myself. However I feel without dealing with the underlying issue we leave a gap in the therapy and an opportunity for the negative patterns to resume. The author does address how to deal with relapse prevention, but in my opinion depending on the patient’s life and experiences cognitive therapy may not have the ability to help in all relapse prevention. I believe that in some instances there is a need to move from the “here-and-now” focus of the cognitive therapy to an exploration of childhood. I also think that the therapy in the book neglects to deal with the root of the patients emotions. I believe the emotions may be where the true meaning of issues is held and the information gained from guided discovery into their emotions can be effective.
Throughout my own learning I have begin to study the theory of cognitive therapy. There is a huge array of different applications of the therapy and I can see they are based on the same fundamental principles which are outlined very clearly in this book. For me this book has helped to illustrate the theory and learn the stages of the process effectively using dialog and examples. This has facilitated me in my use of the cognitive therapy in my own life, and become aware of other peoples cognitive distortions.
This is an excellent read and is geared towards teaching the basics of cognitive therapy in the clinical setting. I would recommend this book to anyone studying in the field because I think the information presented encompasses self-evaluation and rationalisation of thoughts. It would be of benefit to everyone and not only someone training in cognitive therapy. It has given me tools to use on a daily basis to recognise my unhelpful thinking patterns and change the way I look at situations that arise in my life.