 Healthy Thinking
Cognitive therapy has deep roots in our civilization dating back to stoic philosophy in ancient Greece and proceeding on through the writings of William Shakespeare. Albert Ellis, PhD, and Aaron T. Beck, MD developed the concepts and procedures of cognitive therapy and applied them to many current problems in living, and there are now decades of research supporting its effectiveness. Cognitive therapy is frequently described as a “best practice” or an “evidence-based intervention” for many behavioral health problems.
Cognitive therapy is often found in treatment programs for anxiety, depression, and even chronic pain. It is also applicable to a wide range of occupational stress concerns ranging from students needing help finessing various academic barriers to professionals burdened by conflicting demands of their jobs.
Healthy Thinking is an on-line multimedia program written by VCC faculty Sharon Bell and John J. Horan that teaches how to relate the principles of cognitive therapy to the sources of stress in life. The authors view it as an introduction with wide-ranging applicability. To be maximally effective, however, additional modules addressing specific sources of stress need to be developed as “add-ons.” A number of such extensions are planned.
The Healthy Thinking (beta) program consists of three lessons, each running approximately 20 minutes. The videos may be paused to permit reflection or further study of the accompanying slides.
This beta version of Healthy Thinking is slated to be upgraded with improved graphics and greater attention to principles of instructional design. The authors had not originally intended to release the beta edition; however, it has now survived two pilot studies, the second by Brian Garbarini being a randomized controlled trial. In sum, although it is a bit clumsy in terms of production values, it has demonstrated effectiveness; there is no reason not to make available what has been developed so far while simultaneously attending to improvements.
- Begin the Healthy Thinking (beta) program
- Read a transcript of the Healthy Thinking (beta) program
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