Comparative Analysis of Counseling Approaches

Humanistic Approach:

This approach revolves around the whole human being. The prior focus in this approach is free will, self-actualization, and self-efficacy. It helps people to find out their real talent and to fulfill it at the maximum level. It does not focus on any other areas like religion or spiritual matters. It emphasizes the idea that people have this responsibility to live their lives as they want for the goodwill of others. Science and religion are very important in this approach, as they help other people to live well according to their standards and to achieve some kind of personal growth for a better world. This approach helps to learn to accept yourself and others and to keep learning new things from time to time. Humans are responsible because they have the ability to choose between right and wrong.

Behavioral Approach:

This approach revolves around the given environment, which plays a huge role in performing any kind of task. Behaviors can be studied in a controlled, systematic environment. It has no concern for the mental state or the thinking capability of any individual. With the help of behaviorism,, we can train any kind of individual regardless of any mental condition or background. This approach has positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, and punishment. This prior focus is to develop and learn those things or steps that are beneficial with the help of operant conditioning. If the response is good, then a good reward must be given in this behavioral approach. If the response becomes consistent, then negative things should be removed timely, and if the response goes down quickly, then remove a pleasant stimulus to break down the behavior. Gradually reinforce positive behaviors to get desired behavioral results. It is also called the purely objective experimental branch of natural sciences. It totally ignores biological and cognitive influences and focuses on the environmental changes around them.      

CBT Approach:

Basically, cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of psychological treatment used to face problems like anxiety, eating disorders, and marital problems with alcohol and drug usage. CBT provides significant improvement in such treatments and provides quality in life. Many studies prove that CBT performs way better than any of the others. Although it is quite necessary to further dig into this theory and perform different types of practice that will be helpful in the advancement of this theory, research and clinical practices must be added to it. This approach helps people to find problems among them and to find competitive solutions for themselves to get rid of them. It really helps to get rid of negative thoughts and spread some kind of positivity. Through this approach, problems are identified, monitored, and changed accordingly.

Here are some key points of CBT:

•   Cognitive Restructuring: This process deletes all negative thoughts and produces positive thoughts to get extraordinary results.
•   Behavioral activation: In this technique, individuals engage in those activities that are according to their values and interests, which will be helpful to get rid of feelings of depression.
•   Skill Development: CBT emphasizes teaching practical skills that will be helpful in better communication and to solve new problems.
•   Self-Monitoring: Self-Monitoring is quite important as it tracks feelings, emotions, and behaviors to increase self-consciousness.
•   Psychoeducation: CBT helps in educating mental health conditions and the whole therapy process, which helps individuals understand their certain problems.

Cognitive Approach:

It is the scientific study of the mind in which we assess the information we take from the outside world and how we utilize that specific information. It studies mental processes—how people think, learn, remember, and solve their problems. It helps in the development of better experimental methods that can be performed in controlled environments. We cannot measure internal memory because we cannot see what happens inside the mind; we have to measure through experiments with concrete outcomes. It uses highly equipped laboratories to avoid the influence coming from outside. Most psychologists rely on concrete knowledge about a certain object or topic to get accurate results. They use different methods to collect different kinds of data, such as questionnaires, experiments, observations, and hypotheses. This theory helps individuals to identify and change negative thought processes and contribute towards positivity. It also helps in stress management and disorder.