Research Topic: Application of The Cognitive Psychology in Mental Illness or Trauma For this assignment, you will be expected to provide a brief draft of your final project. Using full APA style and

Running Head: APPLICATION OF THE COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 1

Application of The Cognitive Psychology in Mental Illness or Trauma

Melvin Coe

Capella University

Professor Theresa Crawford

Research Foundation of History Systems in Psych

June 9, 2020

Application of The Cognitive Psychology in Mental Illness or Trauma

Introduction

In the present times, the number of people suffering from mental challenges has been on the rise. It is a time that demands psychologists to have better and effective scientific methods that would help them handle the different psychological issues being brought to their attention. Cognitive psychology is one of the scientific methods that can be used by psychologists to study the mind as an information processor. Using the method, psychologists are able to develop cognitive theories and models that would align and seems applicable in individual cases they are handling for instance, how one perceives, understands, remembers, attentiveness, makes use of language and is conscious of things.

The principal goals of clinical psychology are to generate knowledge based on scientifically valid evidence and to apply this knowledge to the optimal improvement of mental and behavioral health (Baker, McFall, Shoham, 2008). The values, principles, and methods of cognitive psychology and psychodynamic psychotherapy are anticipated to be utilized in an investigation which replaces maladaptive behaviors. The interest in the study is centered around increasing social response while decreasing maladaptive behaviors by utilizing differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors. Differential reinforcement of alternative behaviors is a procedure that reduces a problematic behavior by reinforcing an appropriate alternative behavior that serves the same function.

Research topic (Cognitive Psychology in the influences of patient with trauma or mental illness)

The research paper revolves around understanding how cognitive psychology influences patients with trauma and mental illness. It is evident that cognitive psychology revolves around the study of the process within the brain and they vary from learning, perception, attention, memory, thinking, language, attention and problem-solving (Maslow, 1943). The mental illness and trauma are a result of some of the brain processes thus with embracing the school of cognitive psychology it is easier to understand and comprehend the potential solutions. The problem of mental illness has become complaisant in the current era and with the limited resources and technology in the past made it a challenge to contain it but the advancement in field of psychology has made it easier to find solutions to the problem. There is no specific treatment for trauma or mental illness in this era of medical advancement and technology but cognitive psychology is making it easier to help understand how the patients can cope with their mental issues because it helps understand the potential causes which then becomes easier to find the best solution.

Reason for topic (Cognitive Psychology in the influences of patient with trauma or mental illness)

Mental illness is a major problem in the society and there is no specific treatment method that makes it a major issue in the society. The society has managed to succeed at conquering medical marvels in the current decade because of the technology invested in the field of research and medicine but it is failing at mental illness. Most people with mental illness go their entire lives without proper comprehension of their problems and thus it is difficult to live with such uncertainties. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for substance use disorders has demonstrated efficacy as both a monotherapy and as part of combination treatment strategies (McHugh, Hearon, & Otto, 2010). Cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy are the most frequently applied methods of psychotherapy in clinical practice while psychology is the scientific study of behaviours and mental processes and the application of scientific research to help people, organizations, and communities function better (Leichsenring, Hiller, Weissberg, & Leibing, 2006).

As a clinical specialist, I find cognitive psychology to be better aligned to my specialization when dealing with trauma. The application of cognitive psychology in the treatment of individuals who deal with mental illness can help understand how it might influence the mental illness make it easier to increase not only my understanding but it can help pave the way for others who want to conduct research on the subject. The move makes it important and essential because it will help improve the handle on the medicine and how it is making the changes that would see the sourcing of the best medical alternative. The research will involve the understanding of the cognitive psychology and what it entails and affects people’s lives. The research will then help prove how the mental illness or trauma relate to the brain and where the connection with psychology emanates from and thus help come up with the best solution towards the health problem.

Preliminary thoughts on Cognitive Psychology

Problem with the study of cognitive psychology in patients with mental illness or trauma or issue involved some limitations. Especially when it comes to nature versus nurture. The limitations of cognitive psychology come into play when trying to manage a certain behavior. Where there is no reaction there is no external stimuli. Since the control holds that there can be no response without outer upgrades, it will in general proffer summed up arrangements. This is tricky in light of the fact that a summed-up arrangement may not inspire a similar response or conduct from all individuals. Most of the mental illnesses end up with some medical diagnosis that provide medication just to help the patients calm down and then control their behavior which is not a treatment but a measure to help overcome the problem for a short duration.

Patients with mental illness tend to lose their memories and, in some cases, might end up becoming violent, placing themselves in danger and others and losing total control over their actions which is not appropriate. Most of the patients only receive drugs that help them become mild and go to sleep staying lucid through the entire experience with the hope that they can break through the situation. In other measures, some specialists prescribe counselling as a solution to the problems whereby there is no specific attention or approach towards the mental illness. The mental illness problems have no specific cure that makes it a threat because most of the patients that have endured some of the worst experiences tend to fail to return to normalcy because there are no better measures on how to overcome the problem. The fact that there are limited treatment methods in place makes it a threat to the society especially with the increasing cases of trauma, depression and mental illnesses that require attention or else people will never go back to their actual selves.

Philosophical & Applied elements of Cognitive Psychology

The philosophical concepts of the cognitive psychology involve the concept of human cognition and internal mental processes. The principle tries to relate and breakdown the research into scientific methods and the specialization of the various mental processes and how they execute the processes. It is evident that the exploration of the principles within the philosophical standards makes it a challenge and help improve the way that they function (Pavlov, 2010). It is important to find the process such as perception or memory that has the problem and then focus on how to improve the treatment process. The variations in the schools of thought makes it easier to comprehend the source of the problem that will then help improve on the performance and help increase the grasp and understanding of the problem. The cognitive school of thought is a recent study among the other schools of thought but is has become the most common because psychologists now have the proper equipment to help deal with the mental health issues.

References

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