Self Empowerment is one of the basic techniques in cognitive behavioral therapy. The self-schema about self determines our thinking way and which information we remember about ourselves. As self-concept shapes thoughts and memory, interventions made to prevent and heal self-related mental health problems should be based on a cognitive approach.
Use of cognitive approach for problems about self can be via self awareness.
The use of cognitive approach to improving self-problems;
Self-knowledge
- Capturing automatic thoughts,
- Analyze and change with realistic thoughts,
- Recognizing the negative loading and cognitive distortions in doing these,
- Modifying coping patterns with stressful situations.
What is the self? Self is an organized network of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that human beings develop as a result of their interaction and interaction with their parents and other people in the developmental processes of all people. ( Arnold E, Bogg KU. Interpersonal relationships. 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company; 1999 )
According to Rogers, the individual becomes aware of their own values as they interact with environment and with other people. Develop goals and goals by positive or negative evaluations. Hence, self is a perceptual scheme of the characteristics and riches acquired and realized by the individual’s lives.
According to this; our self-schema determines our way of thinking about ourselves. At the same time, this scheme determines what information we will be aware of.
Self Empowerment For example,
Just like with any other topic, there are always different opinions when it comes to self empowerment. Some believe that you can only empower yourself and your surroundings by changing your thoughts and actions; others believe that we need outside help in order to be empowered. I personally feel that the latter is true: we cannot truly become self-empowered without some form of external assistance. When we find ourselves in a difficult situation, sometimes all it takes is one person who cares about us to change our mindset for the better and give us hope again.
The person remembers her/his failure but tends to forget their success.
In other words, our concept of self shapes our mind and memory. Cognitive theorists focus on how this shaping works and plans the treatment accordingly.
People who have positive thoughts about themselves will be safe and respectful to their own selves. Positive self-perception enables individuals to get satisfaction from their lives and thus to be more productive. Individuals with a healthy self and high self-esteem can be more flexible in the face of challenging events in life, develop effective solutions and thus reduce the chance of experiencing mental problems. (1)
It has been observed that people with low self-esteem tend to use defenses based on denial. In addition, they found that they did not care about or overwhelmed the negative information about themselves, whereas those with high self-esteem were more flexible, could confess their deficiencies or weaknesses, and were less dependent on their external appearance, and were less authoritarian.
Self Empowerment According to Cognitive Approach
According to the cognitive approach; a spiritual condition or to understand the source of the problem, one needs to focus on the person’s thoughts about the disturbing event.
The cognitive behavioral approach for has three basic principles to improve mental problems and Self Empowerment.
These principles:
- The main determinant of behavior is cognitive processes.
- These cognitive processes can be monitored and changed.
- The desired behavioral change can only be with changes in cognitive structures.
The use of these principles in improving self-problems is as follows;
- Recognizing their own feelings and thoughts
- Capturing automatic thoughts
- Analyze and change them with realistic thoughts
- Negative loading and cognitive distortions
- Recognize stressful situations where negative thoughts occur more
- Changing coping patterns to strengthen the individual against problems
Source: Hiçdurmaz D. Self-perception of cognitive behavioral group counseling and coping with stress
Effect. Hacettepe University. PhD Thesis; 2010.
References:
1- Arnold E, Bogg KU. Interpersonal relationships. 3rd Edition. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company; 1999
2- Ootim B. Self-esteem. Nursing Management 1998; 4: 24–35
3- De Rubies RJ, Tang TZ, Beck AT. Cognitive therapy. In: Dobson KS, editor. Handbook of cognitivebehavioral therapies. 2nd Ed. New York: The Guilford Press; 2001. p.349-430
4- Dobson KS, Dozois DJA. Historical and Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies. 2nd Ed. New York: The Guilford Press; 2001. p.3-39.
Last Updated on December 11, 2022 by Lucas Berg
