This theory is based upon the reaction of the mind to external stimuli, and how this is internalized. The cognitive reaction to stimuli then manifests as behavior. When behavior becomes extreme or destructive, it is unacceptable, and therapy becomes necessary.
Therapy focuses upon finding the stimuli that originally caused the behavior. Much like client-centered therapy, the responsibility for healing lies with the client. The therapist's role is merely to guide the client towards the target behavior. One of the ways in which to do this is to provide the client with gradual behavior modification exercises until the target behavior is reached.
The role of the subconscious is based upon habit-forming cognitive activities. Perpetual external stimuli will for example form habits. Good habits can be formed by means of gradual cognitive-behavioral therapy.
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The reason for this is that classical psychotherapy tends to focus on the conditions themselves rather than upon effectively treating the conditions according to the needs of the individual. Research for example tends to gather large groups of individuals suffering from the same or similar disorders, and administering homogeneous therapies in order to determine which works best. This does not offer a practical basis for work with individuals.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy on the other hand focuses directly upon both the manifestation of the condition itself and its underlying cause. When the cognitive cause is established, behavior modification therapies can be administer to address not only the cause, but also the manifestation of behavior. This appears to me to be a much more effective way of therapy, especially were conditions have highly individualized causes.
