Erica Pouncie

Cognitive Theory Paper
University of North Texas-Dallas
Abstract
This intention of this paper is to explain the Adlerian
HumanisticCognitive theory and show the therapy application approach to the
client. The Adlerian Cognitive therapist’s therapist’s intents concept is
for both the counselor and client to work collaborate together actively
together throughtout all phases of therapy. toward a mutual goal of
growth. There is no higher archery in this relationship, but two people on
equal grounds. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is based on the concept
that behavior change may be achieved through altering cognitive processes.

The main objective is to help the client identify and change faulty
beliefscognitive distortions about self, others, and life and to create
new coping skills. within they live.

Human Nature and Development of Personality
From an Adlerian Cognitive theorist perspective, , Based on the Adler
concept the humans species are motivated by two evolution goals survival
and reproduction ( Beck, Freeman etl. 2004). d to strive for superiority
and completeness (Mosak, 2005). Cognitive-behaviorists have demonstrated an
interrelationship among cognitive processes, environmental events, and
behavior, which is conveyed in the context of one’s social behavior.

Through studies of Beck and other associates, the cognitive process was
designed to improve the adaptation to the client’s environment, which in
return creates better survival skills. Beck believed the root of CT theory
lies between both behavioral and psychoanalytic approaches (Murdock 2009).

These two approaches construct the schema a person forms through daily
living and their perception of those experiences. The schemas influence
the clients converting of information being received and this will
determine how they respond. Superiority is based on the need to overcome
inferiority complex. At some point in life everyone strives for some type
of perfection, and everyone initially feels inferior to someone else. His
theory stated when certain feelings are not overcome, inferiority complexes
develop, and if a person tries to overcompensate for this inferiority, they
develop superiority complex. This cCo mpleteness may differ from person to
person depending on their personal goals.Adlerian’s believe, that
everyone has social interest, the internal need to be a part of society,
and a desire to contribute to that society. At some point in life everyone
strives for some type of perfection, and everyone initially feels inferior
to someone else. Adlerians view individuals as holistic, creative, and
responsible (Mosak, 2005).

Adler believed that personality development was influenced by also
looked at bibirth order in a family and how it correlated with others in
similar birth positions. According to These birth orders can also impact
the development of what Adler believed. His theory stated when certain
feelings are not overcome, inferiority complexes develop, and if a person
tries to overcompensate for this inferiority, they develop superiority
complex. There was a difference in Adler’s theory and what Freud believed,
which caused conflict among them. Freud saw the human need being pleasure
or sex and Adler interpersonal and social (Murdock 2009). Another
humanistic psychologist, Abraham Maslow shared some of Adler’s theories.

Maslow , a follower of Adler, personality development was also influenced
by best known for establishing the theory of an attempt to satisfy a
hierarchy of needs. ; he stated that humans are motivated by unsatisfied
needs, and that a person can not move up until all other lower needs have
been satisfied. Maslow stated the hierarchy of needs include there are
general needs of physiology, safety, love, and self-esteem that must be
satisfied before a person can act unselfishly (Maslow 1943). These needs
were called “deficiency needs” and Maslow believed as long as people we
aare striving to meet these needs they will move we are moving towards self-
actualization. Many psychologists have implemented fragments of According
to Adler’s theory, but miss the primary goal is to be of getting connected
to others in their family and community. Adler and followers believe
personality and behavior is the responsibility of the individual and each
has internal control rather than being controlled by external forces.

Client Application
Marilyn is a middle child who has developed an inferiority complex of not
being special, compared to her sister. The client has an older brother,
who was probably surrogated the surrogate man position in the home when
Marilyn’s mother worked. She also has a younger sister who in the clients’
eyes is beautiful, physically attractive, can sing and has no flaws. This
client fits the description of Adler’s theory on birth order and position
along with the human inferiorlty and superiority complex. Marilyn also has
developed a basic mistake that all men will abandonment her because issues
of her father left her mother when she was young. She applies this basic
mistake leaving and relates that to her boyfriend Theo, who just left her
for another woman. The first step is for the counselor to build a rapport
with Marilyn and allow her to open up in whatever way is necessary.

Eventually the client will realize she has more control of her life, then
what she believes. The job of the counselor is to understand the clients’
need, build a rapport and find out what Marilyn is wanting to change about
her situation, then work toward the common goal.

Nature of Maladjustment
The maladjustment view for Adlerian theory is a person may act
inferior and develop inferiority complex (Mosak, 2005). The assumption
underlying the cognitively based therapeutic techniques is that maladaptive
cognitive processes lead to maladaptive behaviors and changing these
processes can lead to behavior modification. This complex whether
superiority or inferior is based on the client’s perceptionbasic mistakes
of self, the world or the environment in which they reside. If a person
tries to overcompensate for this inferiority, they develop superiority
complex. The client may have a lack or little social interest outside a
protected circle. Having inferior feelings is normal for human beings,
because it’s the one measurement that motivates a person to improve or
measure to a standard. The distortion comes in when a person demeans or
elevates self to be less or more than other individuals. People with All
failures who are striving for a goal of personal satisfaction but do so in
a useless way that lacks , which is far from proving useful are lacking in
courage to cooperate (Adler 1932). A related theory to superiority is the
narcissistic personality. The grandiose sense of self importance is
parallel with Adler’s superiority, but ironically underneath this
grandiosity the narcissist suffers from a chronically fragile low self
esteem.

These related theories show humans strive internally to meet some type
of need.

Client Application
Marilyn is maladjusted and has developed a inferiority complex about Theo
her boyfriend and what she considers true love. She has repressed emotions
about her father leaving the family when she was four and unconsciously
relates that to the current relationship. There is unconsciousness of the
clients’ broken relationship with her father, which is evading the
conscious relationship she had with her boyfriend. Marilyn has a
maladjusted view of true love between woman and man intimately due to her
basic mistakes developed by hearing her mother say “there is only one true
love” after her father left when she was a child. She feels like Theo is
the only one for her, regardless of how she is treated. Marilyn has also
formed an inferior complex towards her younger sister, who she feels is
always upstaging the client. As the counselor I would ask Marilyn if there
is anytime she does not feel loved by Theo, happy with her job or upstaged
by her younger sister. It is important to implement a lifestyle
investigation and have the client name three recollections of the incident
and how she felt. By doing so, the counselor can get a better understanding
of her feelings and foundation of her beliefs.

Description of Mental Health and Treatment Goals
The core goal of Adlerian followers is to understand the unique and
personal beliefs of the individual. Through equal or “egalitarian”
relationship building and lifestyle investigation the counselor can observe
the clients’ logic and mistaken beliefs that were create during childhood,
which provides an indication of attitude, private views of self, others and
the world. These concealed beliefs correlate with the clients’ behavior and
lifestyle. Therapeutic work with clients, involve short-term and intensive
work to increase social interest, to encourage a greater sense of
responsibility for behavior, and to support behavioral change.

Professional insight is used therapeutically as an analytical tool, to
facilitate deeper self-understanding and personal growth. For a
professional
Counselor to be effective in a session they must be descriptive through
active listening and observation. The Counselor will identify target
problems and regular patterns in clients’ behavioral or mental processes
(Corey 2009). Many Counselors’ may use different levels of analysis to
describe a person’s actions or techniques to probe behaviors.The long
term goal of treatment is not just symptom aid, but for the client to
embrace a new way of living and restructuring faulty beliefs.

Client Application
The treatment goal for Marilyn is for her to explore within, identify her
self worth, create boundaries and help her understand the important role
she plays to others and society. Part of Adler’s growth model is to help
individuals reach their full potential (Corey 2009). Marilyn has withdrawn
from friends, church and activities she normally partakes. Healthy mental
health for Marilyn is increased social interest so that she is actively
involved with friends, church, family, and work. The Counselor will assist
client with targeted behavior problems and set up a timeline to work
through. The counselor will continue to build a trusting relationship as
Marilyn starts to divulge deeper issues about how her father leaving has
left a void and becomes willing to work on those. Through the each stage,
used to meet treatment goals, the counselor will provide the client with
exercises of self affirmations and journaling of how she provided love for
herself each day. The one question should be asked to find out how the
client’s life would be different if her problem of Theo leaving and job did
not exist. This will help the counselor understand Marilyn’s views and
private logic of her life.

Treatment Strategies
There are four stages in Adlerian treatment, which they include Building an
Egalitarian relationship, Lifestyle investigation, /Help gain insight, and
Reorientation or Reeducation. During the first stage, . .. . A
professional treatment strategy is to interpret the early recollections,
gain insight and go though the Reorientation or Reeducation process.

During lifestyle investigation, this act of interpreting, Adlerians pay
more attention to basic mistakes and the client’s logic. During gaining
insight, . . . During reeducation the counselor This stage of action
includesfacilitates strategically task setting task, role playing, pushing
buttons and implementing techniques that best suit the client’s need. Adler
would organize a treatment strategy based on a client’s dream, statements
about relationships and childhood traumas. He also explored medical history
and the circumstance under which the client’s current troubles arose.

Followers of Adler have learned to look deep within the story a client may
disclose, because the actual truth is usually hidden somewhere between the
lines. In Adler’s view, one must address personality dysfunction in
childhood to have the greatest effect, both to alleviate individual
suffering, but also to address societal ills (Adler 1927). Therapists who
follow Adler see therapy as educational, and they use a number of
innovative action techniques to help patients change mistaken beliefs and
interact more fully with family members and others. Most modern therapist
who represent Adlerian works, stress more interest in the client
participation of society and see this as important goals of therapy.

Client Application
The treatment strategy is to have Marilyn disclose her feelings and
mistaken beliefs about her father leaving the home at such a young age for
another woman. As Marilyn reflects on those feeling the counselor must
mirror those feelings with her current situation with Theo and his leaving.

The counselor must then explore the mistaken beliefs thought process on
Marilyn’s view on intimate relationships, i.e. her mistaken belief that
there is only one love and women must put up with everything despite a
man’s bad behavior to maintain it. The client will uncover her relationship
with Theo and how she would like to be treated opposed to how she has been
treated. In order for healing to begin the client must recognize where her
feelings of abandonment stem from, but also must realize how a person
should be treated in relationships, particularly intimate. A simple
exercise of role playing or empty chair will help the client is more
encouraged of her role of self sufficiency in society. Through this
exercise Marilyn will be able to express everything she truly feels
internally to her counterparts, but has failed to speak. Once this has been
establish the counselor will move toward the AdlearianAdlerian stage of
Reorientation or Reeducation to help the client discover a new perspective
and encourage Marilyn to make new changes. One of the strategies is the
push button exercise, which could aid the client in assertively handling
conflict, rather that passively handling. This technique should help the
client deal with the inferior she feels with her sister and help build
encouragement to stand up for self and create healthy boundaries. By
utilizing these techniques the clients’ eyes will be opened to flawed old
thoughts or behaviors and that she has within herself the ability to make
changes. The client is forced to either make changes or remain the same.

Transcript Sample
Counselor: Over the phone you had discussed your depression related to the
issues going on with your boyfriend and employment unhappiness. Feel free
to begin where you like and we’ll go from there.

Client: Yes, I have been crying almost everyday since Theo left, we had
plans to marry and work just depresses me being there. I just can’t do
this anymore.

Counselor: You are sad due to the breakup with Theo and disgusted with
your employment situation.

Client: Yes! He was my one and only true love, but he never found a job,
did drugs and cheated on me several times.

Counselor: What would you say to him when he cheater or did drugs?
Client: At first I would not talk to him for days or accept his calls. I
told him we could not be together.

Counselor: So what changed that brought you two back together?
Client: He promised it was just a mistake that he really loved me and he
would not do it again. With the drugs he told me it was to help him ease
his mind and he uses every once in awhile.

Counselor: Let’s explore your thoughts and patterns that What incline
makes you continue to take him back after multiple encounters with other
women and his continuous behavior patterns. Tell me about your family when
you are a young child and what patterns you saw in your parents’
relationship.?
Client: I really love him and he treats me good when we are together. I
don’t want to be alone.

Counselor: You say he treats you good in what way?
Client: He makes dinner when I work late, does laundry and makes sure my
car is always running.

Counselor: That seems important to you why is this?
Client: Growing up I never had my father there he left us at an early age
for another woman. Even though my brother was older he was in school and my
sister and I had to do all the house work while our mother worked and my
brother played sports and had school so, he was limited too. Actually I
ended doing all the house work, because my sister was always at choir
practice with church and glee club with school.

Counselor: I’m sorry to hear your father left. That must have been hard on
you. What feelings do you have about your father abandoning your family for
another woman?
Client: It makes me angry inside and hurts like he didn’t love us or even
care we existed.

Counselor: What did you end of telling yourself at that young age? What
were your conclusions about men and marriage?Is that why you continue to
stay in the relationship with Theo, because he always comes back regardless
of his incidents?
Client: Yes! If he didn’t love me he wouldn’t keep coming back.

Counselor: How would be different in your life be different if this didn’t
have this problem with Theo and job unhappiness?
| |Below Standard|Approaching|Meets Standard|
| |(15 points)|Standard (20|(25 points) |
| ||points)| |
|Describes|Not clear, |Clear and |Clear, logical, and|
|Human Nature |logical, or in|logical but|in-depth|
|and|depth and more|missing two or |explanation of all |
|Development of|than two|more concepts or|pertinent concepts;|
|personality|pertinent |in depth |provides examples |
|18/25|concepts missing |explanations;| |
| ||All concepts| |
| ||represented but | |
| ||not clear,| |
| ||logical, or in | |
| ||depth| |
|Describes|Not clear, |Clear and |Clear, logical, and|
|Nature of|logical, or in|logical but|in-depth|
|Maladjustment |depth and more|missing two or |explanation of all |
|18/25|than two|more concepts or|pertinent concepts;|
| |pertinent |in depth |provides examples |
| |concepts missing |explanations;| |
| ||All concepts| |
| ||represented but | |
| ||not clear,| |
| ||logical, or in | |
| ||depth| |
|Description of|Not clear, |Clear and |Clear, logical, and|
|Mental Health |logical, or in|logical but|in-depth|
|and Goals|depth and more|missing two or |explanation of all |
|22/25|than two|more concepts or|pertinent concepts;|
| |pertinent |in depth |provides examples |
| |concepts missing |explanations;| |
| ||All concepts| |
| ||represented but | |
| ||not clear,| |
| ||logical, or in | |
| ||depth| |
|Describes|Not clear, |Clear and |Clear, logical, and|
|Treatment|logical, or in|logical but|in-depth|
|Strategies|depth and more|missing two or |explanation of all |
|20/25|than two|more concepts or|pertinent concepts;|
| |pertinent |in depth |provides examples |
| |concepts missing |explanations;| |
| ||All concepts| |
| ||represented but | |
| ||not clear,| |
| ||logical, or in | |
| ||depth| |
|Sample |Dialogue does not|Dialogue |Dialogue|
|Transcript|illustrate |illustrates|illustrates |
|20/25|concepts and is |concepts but is |concepts and is|
| |not accurate|not always|accurate|
| ||accurate | |
|APA style Text|Reference |Reference |Reference citations|
|citations and |citations |citations |incorrect in one or|
|Reference Page|incorrect in more|incorrect in 2 |less areas and all |
|. |than 3 areas;|or 3 areas but |8 references |
|Grammar,|Less than 8|all 8 references| |
|sentence|references || |
|structure, and||| |
|Editing ||| |
|20/25||| |
| |More than 3|Two or three|None or one |
| |grammar, sentence|grammar, |grammar, sentence |
| |structure, or|sentence |structure, or|
| |editing problems |structure, or|editing problems|
| ||editing problems| |
Do NOT plagiarize. This means do not copy anything without giving quotation
marks and properly citing the source. Plagiarism results in a failing
grade on the assignment.

Total Possible Points = 118/150
A = 150-135B = 134-120C = 119-105D = 104-90F = 89 or below


References
Adler A. (1927). The Practice and Theory of Individual Psychology,
Retrieved from www.alfredadler.edu/library/catalog.htm
Adler A., Heinz L. Ansbacher. R (1964). Superiority and social interest: a
collection of later writings By Alfred Adler 1932
Corey, G. (2009). Student Manual for Theory and Practice of Counseling and
Psychotherapy. Eighth Edition. Brooks/Cole: Belmont, CA
Maslow, A H (1943). Conflict, frustration and the theory of threat. Jour.

of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 38, 81-86
Maslow, A. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. How to Make the World a
Better Place Chapter 7 by Mark Zimmerman. Retrieved from
http://emotionalliteracyeducation.com/abraham-maslow-theory-human-
motivation.shtml
Mosak, H. H. (2005). Adlerian psychotherapy. In R. J. Corsini & D. Wedding
(Eds.),
Current psychotherapies (7th ed., pp. 52-95). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Murdock, N. L. (2009). Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Case
Approach. Second Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is based on the concept that behavior
change may be achieved through altering cognitive processes. According to
Mahoney (1995), an individual’s cognitions are viewed as covert behaviors,
subject to the same laws of learning as overt behaviors. Since its
inception, cognitive-behavior modification has attempted to integrate the
clinical concerns of psychodynamic psychotherapists with the technology of
behavior therapists (Mahoney, 1995). Cognitive-behaviorists have
demonstrated an interrelationship among cognitive processes, environmental
events, and behavior, which is conveyed in the context of one’s social
behavior. Psychotherapists in North America endorse cognitive-behavioral
interventions as the second most widely used treatment approach (i.e., with
an eclectic
Beck and his theories of cognitive therapy seem to provide a good balance
between the amount of direction and authority the client and therapist each
have. I like that Beck does provide direction and insight, but in a way
that does not make him seem like he is just dictating a diagnosis. Beck
discusses what he thinks is going on with the client and explains what he
thinks and why. The idea of collaborative empiricism is one that empowers
the client to go out into his or her world and test his or her biases, but
this is also done with the help of the therapist who can guide the process.

I believe that cognitions are very important to examine in the therapy
process and that they cannot be separated from emotions and actions. We
feel a certain way based on what we are thinking, based on what we have
done. Also we do certain things based on what we are feeling and thinking.

We think certain things because of what we are feeling, and we feel a
certain way because of what we are thinking. My point here is that
everything ties togeth