Social Work Approaches Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Social Work Approaches - Essay Example Significantly, this type of therapy concentrates on how the individual thinks and behaves at present rather than in the patient’s early childhood experiences that could have brought about the typical behaviour. The approach entails weekly therapy sessions that is coupled with daily practice exercises designed to help patients apply the cognitive behavioural therapy skills which they have learned into their own personal settings or environment. Treatment is short and does not last longer than 16 weeks or 4 months (University of Michigan \depression Centre, 2006). Cognitive behavioural therapy employs three (3) essential features, which are (University of Michigan Depression Centre, 2006): 1) Cognitive restructuring, 2) behavioural activation, and 3) enhancing problem solving skills. Cognitive restructuring focuses on the identification of the maladaptive or erroneous thoughts that makes the patient feel depressed. Usually, the depression is about themselves, their environment and their future. Maladaptive thoughts about themselves include feelings of being worthless or stupid because they cannot get jobs or because they commit mistakes – which in reality are considered petty or small problems. In connection with this, they tend to lose interest and cut back on their customary activities, which an ordinary and normal individual get pleasure from as part of his or her daily existence. Thus, the person concern spends more idle time to focus on distorted thoughts that would eventually pave way for negative emotions. In relation to the foregoing, home settings and the environment in general makes a person feel depressed because he or she perceives being a social outcast. This is why social interactions with the family and with the community become deficient and limited. This makes the person withdrawn and resentful due to the wrong notion that nobody likes him or her. As a consequence, typical home life is disrupted because the