Why CBT?

Children with anxiety disorders have been found to misperceive uncertain events and threatening and they tend to be overly self- focused and hypercritical and report increased levels of negative self talk and expectations. (Stallard, 2002)

Conner (2008) explains that once a fear or anxiety reaction has been created, the reaction tendency can be maintained a number of ways. One of these includes;
Self-talk or "automatic" thoughts. What the child believes can cause an emotional reaction and errors in thinking or catastophic conclusions, contribute significantly to anxiety reactions (e.g. I can't handle new situations alone. All dogs want to bite me.) This highlights how CBT would be benificial for a child experiencing differnet levels of anxiety, as it will aim to change the irrational thinking patterns that are contributing to their symptoms of anxiety.

"Deficits in cognitive processing, such as inability to engage in planning or problem solving have been found in children and young people with problems of self control such as ADHD and also in children with interpersonal difficulties.” (Stallard, 2002, p.5)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy will teach children with ADHD new skills in order to be able to manage difficult symptoms they experience.

Depressed children have more negative attributions than non-depressed children and have distorted perceptions of their own performance, and selectively attend to the negative features of events. (Stallard, 2002)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy will be beneficial for children with Anxiety Disorders, Depression, ADHD as there is evidence to support that they all experience cognitive and behavioural dysfunctions. CBT will be valuable because it has the overall purpose of increasing awareness, facilitating better self-understanding, improve self-control by developing more appropriate cognitive and behavioural skills for children.



Stallard, P. (2002). Think Good- Feel Good. A Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Workbook for Children and Young People. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Conner, M. G. (2002-2008). Anxiety in Children. Retrieved August 31st, 2011, from http://www.crisiscounseling.com/Articles/AnxietyinChildren.htm

Mental Health Issues in Children

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is beneficial for children who experience different mental health issues including, Depression, Anxiety and ADHD. Below is some brief information on each.

Depression
Depression in children can be caused by a number of different factors. These include; physical health, life events, family history of depression, genetic vulnerability and the environment.
The presentation of a depressed child includes a sad and low self mood, lack of motivation, general low self-esteem and self-belief. (Florey, 2001)

Anxiety
There is no one cause for anxiety in children. Exposure to a stressfull environment can be a pathway to developing anxiety. Both geneitic and physiological make-up and exposure to specific trauma may also increase chances anxiety.
A child with anxiety may experience some of the following symptoms; a sense of apprehension or worry, low self- esteem and physical symptoms that may include headache, muscle tension, perspiration, restlessness, tension in the chest and mild stomach discomfort.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD)
ADHD fall in three main areas. These are hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity.
A hyperactive child is often fidgety, has difficulty being quiet, always on the go and talks excessively. An inattentive will often have difficulty sustaining attention, struggles to listen to what is being sent, will not follow instructions or finish tasks, avoids tasks that require mental effort and is easily distracted. A child with impulsivity will often interrupt others and speak when not supposed to and is unable to wait their turn. (Rutherford, 2010)
Rutherford (2010) states that the combination of difficulties that a child with ADHD experiences is associated with increased rates of observed educational and social behaviour which therefore causes a decrease in self-esteem.

Link to more info on child anxiety
Link to more info on child depression
Link to more info on children with ADHD

Florey, L. (2001). Occupational Therapy for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. New York: Churchill Livingstone.

Rutherford, D. (2010, March 3rd). Symptoms of ADHD . Retrieved August 31st, 2011, from netdoctor: http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/adhd/indepthlookatsymptoms.htm

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT) is based on the concept that emotions and behaviours result mainly from cognitive processes, and that it is possible for these processes to be modified, in order to achieve different ways of feeling and behaving.(Frogatt, 2008)

CBT suggests that changes in any factor can lead to an improvement or deterioration in the other factors. For example, if we exercise (behaviour), we feel better (mood); if we feel nervous (mood), we may experience an increased heart rate or sweat more(physiologiocal reaction); if we find large social gatherings difficult, we may avoid them. (behaviour) (Creek & Lougher, 2008)

The aim of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is to identify and correct faulty thinking patterns, which can therefore improve the psychological and behavioural problems of people. Bruce & Borg (2002)states that Cognitive -Behavioural Therapy recommends that intervetion includes both verbal and behavioural strategies. The goal of intervention is to change a person's thoughts which will in turn change the person's behaviour, ultimately improve the the person's self-efficacy and daily function. (Bruce & Borg 2002)




Bruce, M., & Borg, B. (2002). Psychological Frames of Reference: Core for Occupation-Based Practice. SLACK incorporated.

Creek, J., & Lougher, L. (2008). Occupational Therapy and Mental Health. New York: Churchill Livingstone.

Froggatt, W. (2006). A Brief Introduction to Cognitive- Behaviour Therapy. New Zealand.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my blog about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
This blog is a requirement for the Transition to Practice course within the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Otago Polytechnic. I also have an interest in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and how it can benefit children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Anxiety Disorders and Depression.

Please feel free to post a comment! It would be great to hear what you have to say about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with children!