What specific constructs, techniques, and interventions do you believe are the most effective?

According to Seligman and Reichenberg (2014), “CBT combines myriad treatments and techniques that all share a common principle that thoughts, rather than external circumstances, cause feelings and behaviors” (p. 344).

From a personal perspective, I have integrated techniques to treat one segment of my client group that I perceive to be, in my option, exposed to high risks and vulnerable to an over-prescribed client group.

In this regard, I also use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I have employed ACT with several of my adolescent and young adult population, particularly those who have demonstrated pain-related somatic symptoms. According to Allen, Wren, Anderson, Sabholk, & Mauro (2018), potential side effects of medications, behavioral interventions are often considered as a first-line option for children, and adolescents. In this regard, I place a major focus on “modified cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) protocols” (Allen et al., 2018, p. 8) such as ACT to address youth-related stress, anxiety disorders, and pain-related gastrointestinal symptoms.

In terms of EFT constructs, EFT provides both experiential and systemic influences. According to Gurman, Lebow, and Snyder (2015), “The experiential perspective has always seen the wisdom of focusing on emotional responses and using them in the process of therapeutic change” (p. 98). From the family perspective, the structural systematic family approach not only helps family members to develop new perspectives and responses based on a reconstruction of their specific frames of reference, but EFT also uses “emotion in breaking destructive cycles of interaction” (Gurman et al., 2015, p.99). In addition, the literature also makes mention of collaborative research studies conducted by Johnson and Greenberg, particularly as it relates to experiential family therapy attachment theory and its integration with “humanistic and systematic perspectives, that helps couples to soften their negative interactions and strengthen their emotional connection with each other” (Dalton, 2013, p. 298).

References

Allen, T. M., Wren, A. A., Anderson, L. M., Sabholk, A., & Mauro, C. F. (2018). A group CBT-yoga targeting protocol pain-related and internalizing symptoms in youth. Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology, 6(1), 7-18. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cpp0000206

Dalton, E. J., Greenman, P. S., Classen, C. C., & Johnson, S. M. (2013). Nurturing connections in the aftermath of childhood trauma: A randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused couple therapy for female survivors of childhood abuse. Couple and Family Psychology, Research and Practice, 2(3), 209-221. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032772

Gurman, A. S., Lebow, J. L., & Synder, D. K. (2015). Clinical handbook of couple therapy (5th ed.). New York, NY: The Guildford Press.

Seligman, L., & Reichenberg, L. (2014). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: Systems, strategies, 4 th Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education