Behaviour therapy is an effective but not sufficient factor in CBT Essay

Behaviour therapy is an effective but not sufficient factor in CBT - Essay Example Some instances of such models can be cited as theories of normal and abnormal development, and theories of emotion and psychopathology. In fact Fenton (2007) gives out a very understandable description of the entire concept of CBT by breaking it into member components of cognitive and behavioural therapies as follows," Quite simply, cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT is a combination of two kinds of therapy: cognitive and behavioral. In behavioral therapy, people learn how to change behavior. You may have already heard of the most common behavioral techniques used in the treatment of anxiety disorders: desensitization, relaxation and breathing exercises. Cognitive therapy focuses on thoughts, assumptions and beliefs. With cognitive therapy, people may learn to recognize and change faulty or maladaptive thinking patterns. Cognitive therapy is not about "positive thinking" in the sense that you must always think happy thoughts. It's a way to gain control over racing, repetitive though ts which often feed or trigger anxiety. The two therapies often are used together because they are beneficial to each other. For example, in the midst of extreme anxiety, it may feel impossible to gain control over your thoughts and apply cognitive therapy techniques. Therefore, a behavioral technique such as deep breathing may help you calm down and focus on your thinking". It is the latter argument of Fenton which is the focus of this paper. This paper essentially looks into exploring the argument that behaviour therapy is an effective approach with in the CBT but it is not the only and sufficient approach. The paper looks into the concepts of cognitive and behaviour therapies in depth and the possible and more effective applications of the CBT,when the two are combined. The paper also discusses some other approaches which are finding application under the umbrella of the CBT.Cognitive Concepts and Therapy The initial questions that arise in cognitive approach are conceptual. They relate to what are the various levels of cognition that is accorded importance in literature. In the 1960's, Aaron Beck, developed his approach called Cognitive Therapy. Beck's cognitive therapy was particularly found very useful in the effective treatment of depression and related symptoms. Beck and his associates reckon three identifiable levels of cognition that are pertinent as treatment milestones as cognitive approaches are applied to within the overall approach of f CBT.These three levels of cognition are : full consciousness, automatic thoughts, and schemas (Clark et al,1999). Within these three levels the highest level is consciousness and it is defined to include the mental state in which rational decisions are made with full awareness of the decision maker. Decision maker is rationally opting to choose the way he finally did and he has rational arguments to justify his acts.

The goal of an artist is to express his vision regardless of the Essay

The goal of an artist is to express his vision regardless of the publics reaction - Essay Example The first point that comes to mind is that the purpose of art is to give pleasure. At this juncture, a look in to ‘The nature of Art’ by Cothey will be useful. According to Cothey (21), a commonly used analogy is that ‘art is the food for the mind’. Now, one has to read the explanation provided by Tolstoy, the greatest artist of all times. In ‘What is Art?’, he says that ‘the satisfaction of our taste cannot serve as a basis for our definition of the merits of the food†¦. In the same way, beauty, or that which pleases us, can in no sense serve as a basis for the definition of art’. (Cothey, 21 ). Now, it becomes easy to have a clear idea about the purpose of art. It is evident that the quality of art cannot be measured by the extent to which it is pleasing to the general public. Instead, its nutritional value might lie somewhere else. To illustrate, the work â€Å"Loose Lips Sink Ships† by Peter Langenbach portrays forme r President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in a bathtub. It is an admitted fact that neither Clinton nor his admirers would be able to enjoy the art though the artist hugely succeeded in creating humor, having both aesthetic and nutritional value. At this juncture, it seems beneficial to incorporate the Aristotle view that tragedy can result in a catharsis of emotions. Now, if someone analyses the controversial art works of the past, one can identify the fact that each of them, though presented in the most erratic, insane and inhuman way, has a social reality to say, either presented in a direct way or indicating to the issue subtly. To illustrate, Renee Cox, in â€Å"Yo Mama’s Last Supper† presented a nude African-American portraying Jesus. Though many find this highly offensive, for the sake of argument, one can say that the artist wanted to show the attractiveness of the Church, the alluring nature of Jesus, and so on. In other words, the beauty of art really lies in the eyes of the beholder. One cannot forget how Leonardo da Vinci still creates confusion in the ‘Last Supper’ through the presence of Mary Magdalene and how Dan Brown wrote ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Now, it seems evident that the beauty of art lies in vivid imagination that knows no boundaries. Erecting barriers in the name of social norms, religion, culture and ethics can only kill the essence of art. In other words, had there been strict imposition of rules on art, many of the masterpieces of the history would not have been developed. They all had their birth because of the intellectual freedom enjoyed by the artists. As V. S. Ramachandran and William Hirstein observe, â€Å"all art is caricature† (Ramachandran and Hirstein, 18). Their study points towards the purpose of art, according Hindu view, as conveying ‘rasa’ or ‘essence’ (17). To achieve this purpose, the artists often amplify the features they observe. As an exam ple, the researchers point out how artists amplify the feminine features of a female while portraying a female, and how they overemphasize the masculine features of a male to convey ‘essence’. In addition, the researchers point out the fact that if the purpose of art is to merely present a reality directly, it could be more easily done using a camera (Ramachandran and Hirstein, 16). Thus, the essence of art lies in enhancing, transcending, and even distorting reality. Artists, throughout history, were well