Principle 1: reinterpret behavior
Cognitive behavioral therapy will constantly help visitors to use cognitive behavioral terms to explain their behaviors, beliefs and emotions during the consultation process.
For example, when I met a visitor, I found that she felt sad easily in some cases. After a deeper understanding, I found that the belief behind her is that I am a loser and I will never be happy when I do something right.
On the basis of this belief, she will have some problem behaviors, such as encouraging herself to avoid interacting with others and so on.
That's because some dysfunctional thinking leads to some dysfunctional behaviors, and then some dysfunctional behaviors in turn strengthen these dysfunctional thinking, resulting in a vicious circle process.
This is what we need to help visitors identify in the process of psychological counseling, so that she can explain and identify this process in words.
Principle 2: Good therapeutic alliance.
In fact, this is not just for cognitive behavioral therapy. No matter what school or orientation, psychological counseling must be based on good counseling relationship and therapeutic alliance.
Then this requires us, in the process of consultation, to have some basic ability and quality to establish relationships, to express that we are enthusiastic, * * *, and to take the initiative to pay attention to visitors unconditionally.
At the same time, let visitors feel that we can respect and listen to them, which is the basis for establishing a good treatment alliance.
Principle 3: Goal-oriented, Focus on Problems
In other words, every time we meet a visitor, we pay attention to the most important and concerned issues at that time.
For example, there is a visitor whose problem is that his social relationship is not very good, and his friends seem to want to associate with him. He also feels very tired every day and doesn't want to go out with friends.
Then maybe in some other directions of psychological counseling, such as psychoanalysis, the psychological counselor of this school may explore what happened in his childhood family relationship or some important interpersonal relationships during his work.
The focus of cognitive behavioral therapy lies in the present, and it may work directly against such a problem.
For example, by looking for evidence to evaluate the correctness of his friend's belief that he doesn't want to go out with him. Then visitors may test these ideas with some behavioral experiments, such as inviting friends to travel.
In this process, he may be able to identify and correct distorted thinking, and then directly benefit from the solution of the problem to reduce his loneliness.
This may be the most important feature of cognitive behavioral therapy, which is characterized by testing cognition, changing behavior and understanding the influence of visitors' beliefs on their behavior from current problems.
Principle 4: The role of education
Educate visitors, let them become their own consultants, and then on this basis, so as to prevent recurrence.
Cognitive behavioral therapy will openly discuss with visitors what ways counselors are using to help them identify and evaluate their own thoughts and behaviors, as well as their connections.
Cognitive behavioral therapy counselors will certainly help visitors understand their cognitive patterns. He will not only help visitors set goals, determine and evaluate their own beliefs, and plan behavior changes. And teach him how to do it.
For example, visitors will be encouraged to record their counseling notes, review these cognitive styles that are helpful to him during the counseling process, and ways to change their behavior, so that he can continue to benefit himself after the counseling.