A client who was neglected by the parents as a child develops a core schema of "I am not wanted". Repeated occurrence of those thoughts leads to the development of feelings of anxiety and depression. Identify the psychologist whose technique/therapy is best suited for this problem ?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Aaron Beck
Aaron Beck’s cognitive therapy holds that childhood experiences develop core schemas, systems of beliefs and action patterns. A client who was neglected by the parents develops the core schema ‘I am not wanted’; a critical incident later triggers it and leads to negative automatic thoughts, which bring anxiety and depression. The therapy uses gentle, non-confrontational questioning to make the client think about these beliefs and restructure the cognitive distortions. The question describes Beck’s own example.
NCERT (2025-26): “Cognitive Therapy … Another cognitive therapy is that of Aaron Beck. His theory of psychological distress characterised by anxiety or depression, states that childhood experiences provided by the family and society develop core schemas or systems, which include beliefs and action patterns in the individual. Thus, a client, who was neglected by the parents as a child, develops the core schema of ‘I am not wanted’. During the course of life, a critical incident occurs in her/his life. S/ he is publicly ridiculed by the teacher in school. This critical incident triggers the core schema of ‘I am not wanted’ leading to the development of negative automatic thoughts. Negative thoughts are persistent irrational thoughts such as ‘nobody loves me’, ‘I am ugly’, ‘I am stupid’, ‘I will not succeed’, etc. Such negative automatic thoughts are characterised by cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions are ways of thinking which are general in nature but which distort the reality in a negative manner. These patterns of thought are called dysfunctional cognitive structures. They lead to errors of cognition about the social reality. Repeated occurrence of these thoughts leads to the development of feelings of anxiety and depression. The therapist uses questioning, which is gentle, non-threatening disputation of the client’s beliefs and thoughts. Examples of such question would be, ‘Why should everyone love you?’, ‘What does it mean to you to succeed?’, etc. The questions make the client think in a direction opposite to that of the negative automatic thoughts whereby s/ he gains insight into the nature of her/ his dysfunctional schemas, and is able to alter her/his cognitive structures. The aim of the therapy is to achieve this cognitive restructuring which, in turn, reduces anxiety and depression.…” |