Cognitive behavioral therapy primarily aims to:

• A. Altering thoughts to reduce self-destructive patterns
• B. Explore family of origin
• C. Circle of dreams
• D. Free association

Answer: (A)

Cognitive behavioral therapy targets the way thoughts influence feelings and actions, aiming to identify and modify distorted or unhelpful thinking to reduce emotional distress and break maladaptive patterns. By examining automatic thoughts, testing beliefs against evidence, and practicing new coping strategies, CBT helps shift the patterns that lead to self-destructive behaviors. This focus on changing thoughts as the gateway to changing feelings and behavior makes it the best fit for reducing self-destructive patterns.

The other approaches come from different traditions: exploring family of origin is a psychodynamic focus on early relationships and unconscious processes; the circle of dreams isn’t a recognized therapeutic method in standard modalities; and free association is a psychoanalytic technique used to uncover unconscious material, not a CBT strategy.