Identify an advantage and a disadvantage each of behavior therapy and cognitive therapy.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Students' examples may vary.

The answer should contain the following information:

Advantage of behavior therapy: Behavior therapy works well for eliminating anxiety disorders, treating phobias and compulsions, establishing control over impulses, and learning complex social skills to replace maladaptive behavior. More than any of the other therapeutic techniques, it provides methods that nonprofessionals can use to change their own behavior. Moreover, it is efficient, because it focuses on solving carefully defined problems.

Disadvantage of behavior therapy: Critics of behavior therapy believe that because it emphasizes changing external behavior, it ignores people's inner life-their thoughts and anxieties. Consequently, people do not necessarily gain insight into thoughts and expectations that may be fostering their maladaptive behavior.

Advantage of cognitive therapy: Cognitive approaches to therapy have proved successful in dealing with a broad range of disorders, including anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders. Furthermore, the willingness of cognitive therapists to incorporate additional treatment approaches (e.g., combining cognitive and behavioral techniques in cognitive-behavioral therapy) has made this approach a particularly effective form of treatment.

Disadvantage of cognitive therapy: Critics have pointed out that the focus on helping people to think more rationally ignores the fact that life is, in reality, sometimes irrational. Changing one's assumptions to make them more reasonable and logical thus may not always be helpful-even assuming it is possible to bring about true cognitive change.