CBT-Based Treatment Model: A Literature Review

CBT is one of the most frequently used approaches across age, cultural groups and disorders (Dobson, 2009). In the literature, a large number of researches tested the treatment outcome of CBT in children and adolescent groups across various types of disorder. However, especially in trauma, as an evident-based treatment model, Trauma Focus CBT received much attention in the literature. According to Blaustein & Kinniburgh (2010), particularly, chronic traumatic experience becomes toxic for children’s neurocognitive development at structural, biological and functional levels. Over time, traumatic stress impairs children’s execute functioning which results in difficulty in problem solving, planning and inhibiting the response. Having difficulties in these particular cognitive areas cause social problems, disobedience, presenting negative emotional responses, frustration. Therefore, an effective treatment should …show more content…
Generally, CBT is considered as culturally adaptable treatment model and in the literature, several studies support this claim. For instance, Pantalone, Iwamasa, Martell (2010), stated that multicultural therapy and CBT are easily adaptable because these two approaches are based on the idea that case conceptualization must be individualized. Also, Hays and Iwamasa (2006), in their book, identified and explained the most significant factors (spirituality, political history, racism, family structure, gender roles etc.) essential for adapting CBT for each cultural group. So CBT is a flexible approach for working with diverse cultural clients, however, the key thing is the therapist’s cultural sensitivity and competency. Consequently, a CBT therapist has to take into consideration the following significant factors while working with children in order to provide the best treatment of options. Crawley et al. (2010) highlighted these significant points for CBT