Donald Meichenbaum was one of the founders of CBT. He also developed Cognitive Behavior modification. The three components of cognitive behavior modification are:
Constructive narrative: people actively contrast their own reality.
Information Processing: An activating event taps into a person's core cognition which leads to an unhelpful, inaccurate, and distorted thought.
Conditioning: Cognitions are viewed as covert behaviors that have been conditioned. They can be deconditioned and modified through external and internal contingencies which strengthen new and healthier cognitions.
Cognitive behavior therapy is one of the few forms of psychotherapy that has been scientifically tested and found to be effective in hundreds of clinical trials for many different disorders.
Cognitive behavior therapy is based on the cognitive model which is the way we perceive situations influences how we feel emotionally.
Cognitive behavior therapy helps people identify their distressing thoughts and evaluate how realistic the thoughts are. Then they learn to change their distorted thinking. When they think more realistically, they feel better. The emphasis is also consistently on solving problems and initiating behavioral change.
CBT Techniques:
Behavioral Experiments: In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, behavioral experiments are designed to test thoughts.
Thought Records: thought records are designed to test the validity of thoughts and help change beliefs on a logical level
Pleasant Activity Scheduling: (particularly helpful for depression) having client schedule at least one pleasant activity they wouldn't usually do each day of the week. Doing activities that produce higher levels of positive emotions in your daily life will help make your thinking less negative, narrow, rigid, and self-focused.
Situation Exposure Hierarchies: Situation exposure hierarchies involve putting things you would normally avoid on a list. The idea is to work your way through the list from lowest to highest. You would likely experiment with each item several times over a period of a few days until the distress you feel about being in that situation is about half of what it was the first time you tried it
Imagery Based Exposure: Imagery based exposure can help counteract rumination because it helps make intrusive painful memories less likely to trigger rumination. Because of this, it also tends to help reduce avoidance coping. When a person is less distressed by intrusive memories they're able to choose healthier coping actions.
Behavioral Experiments: In Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, behavioral experiments are designed to test thoughts.
Thought Records: thought records are designed to test the validity of thoughts and help change beliefs on a logical level
Pleasant Activity Scheduling: (particularly helpful for depression) having client schedule at least one pleasant activity they wouldn't usually do each day of the week. Doing activities that produce higher levels of positive emotions in your daily life will help make your thinking less negative, narrow, rigid, and self-focused.
Situation Exposure Hierarchies: Situation exposure hierarchies involve putting things you would normally avoid on a list. The idea is to work your way through the list from lowest to highest. You would likely experiment with each item several times over a period of a few days until the distress you feel about being in that situation is about half of what it was the first time you tried it
Imagery Based Exposure: Imagery based exposure can help counteract rumination because it helps make intrusive painful memories less likely to trigger rumination. Because of this, it also tends to help reduce avoidance coping. When a person is less distressed by intrusive memories they're able to choose healthier coping actions.