W6-CBT Case Study Discussion

Post#2 by Kerith Pocock-CBT Case Study Discussion

Alana is a 24-year-old married female Muslim client who was referred for psychological intervention after being diagnosed with depression. She reported a history of abuse as a child through early adulthood. She denied history of family psychiatric issues and reports she is currently married and expecting her first child. She moved to America five years ago and is hopeful for a better future for herself and her children.

After reviewing the brief history from Alana, I would recommend cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) techniques such as disputing irrational beliefs, self-management strategies, and mindfulness to help Alana explore her frustration and anger issues related to past and current stressors. CBT techniques and interventions have been shown to reduce adult depression, however, there is lack of research to support which component or combination of components are most beneficial (Lopez et al., 2019).

One technique in CBT is through rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) and within this therapy includes the technique of disputing irrational beliefs. This technique asks clients to look for evidence to support irrational beliefs. This technique could be good for Alana as she can reflect on her past and challenge previous thoughts of being termed “disobedient” or not good enough for her family. Changing the irrational belief can improve her relationship with her husband, work relationships, and improvement in overall mental health (Turner, 2016).

Self-management strategies can also be helpful to Alana to create goals and teaching her coping skills in problematic situations (Corey, 2014). Self-management strategies further teach clients how to create an action plan for change and self-monitor and evaluate their actions. This technique can work in hand with disrupting irrational thoughts by changing a negative mindset and setting goals moving forward. It can also be utilized in her current work situation as a woman and minority in the finance industry. Because CBT can be adapted to any culture, this intervention can be adopted to Alana and her Muslim religion and culture.

The last technique I think Alana would benefit from is mindfulness. Mindfulness is effective for the reduction of depression, anxiety, rumination/worry, and stress/psychological distress (Querstret et al., 2020). Mindfulness has shown to improve the health and well-being of patients when used. Mindfulness helps patients when facing distressing situations to have interpersonal effectiveness, emotional regulation, and identify their own distress tolerance (Corey, 2014).

CBT can be applied to Alana’s situation because interventions are tailored to an individual and their culture. It helps clients to be empowered by learning specific techniques that can be applied in daily life and places an emphasis on cultural influences to contribute to a client’s uniqueness.

References

Corey, G. (2015). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Cengage.

López-López, J., Davies, S., Caldwell, D., Churchill, R., Peters, T., Tallon, D., . . . Welton, N. (2019). The process and delivery of CBT for depression in adults: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 49(12), 1937-1947. doi:10.1017/S003329171900120X

Querstret, D., Morison, L., Dickinson, S., Cropley, M., & John, M. (2020). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for psychological health and well-being in nonclinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Stress Management, 27(4), 394–411. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000165.supp (Supplemental)

Turner M. J. (2016). Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Irrational and Rational Beliefs, and the Mental Health of Athletes. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 1423. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01423