DQ 1 :What are the benefits of using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy versus using Behavioral Therapy?
A 23-word prompt that hides a mechanism question. The benefit of adding the cognitive component is only visible once you have said what behavioural therapy alone does and does not change.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 22, 2026
What the cognitive component adds to behavioural therapy
The prompt is one sentence, which is exactly why it is easy to answer badly. The word versus invites a table of features, and a table of features will not earn much. What separates a strong post is that it treats the two as different accounts of why symptoms persist. Behavioural therapy holds that behaviour is learned and maintained by its consequences, so change comes through exposure, contingency management, activity scheduling and skills training, and the client's beliefs are not the target. Cognitive behavioural therapy keeps all of that and adds a claim: that appraisals and beliefs mediate the link between an event and a response, so identifying and testing those appraisals is itself a route to change. State that difference in mechanism early. Without it the post has nowhere to stand when a reader asks why the added component should help at all, and every benefit you go on to list is a consequence of it.
Then make the benefits specific rather than promotional. Because CBT works on appraisal, it gives the client an explicit model of their own problem and a set of tools that survive the end of therapy, which is the usual argument for durability and relapse prevention. It reaches presentations where the maintaining factor is a belief rather than an avoided situation, such as rumination in depression or catastrophic misinterpretation in panic. It also transfers to self-help and digital formats more readily, because the model can be taught. Be honest about the other side, since a post that admits nothing reads as advocacy: behavioural methods alone remain first line in several places, including exposure for specific phobia and behavioural activation for depression, and component studies have repeatedly struggled to show that the cognitive element adds outcome on top of the behavioural one. Naming that dispute is what shows you have read past the textbook summary.
Likely learning objectives
- State the mechanism each model proposes for symptom maintenance.
- Derive the benefits of CBT from its cognitive mediation claim.
- Name presentations where behavioural methods alone remain first line.
- Acknowledge the component-analysis evidence rather than ignoring it.
Assignment instructions
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
PCN 500 Grand Canyon Week 5 Discussion 1 DQ 1 :What are the benefits of using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy versus using Behavioral Therapy?
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
Important information for writing discussion questions and participation Hi Class, Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts. Contact me if you have any questions. Important information on Writing a Discussion Question Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references) There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article. Include in-text citations in your response Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information Follow APA-7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week. Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references) Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count. Follow APA 7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points. Here are some helpful links Student paper example Citing Sources The Writing Center is a great resource Welcome to class Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to. I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you. Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. 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A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week. I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course! PCN 500 Grand Canyon Week 5 Discussion 1 Grading Rubric Guidelines Performance Category 10 9 8 4 0 Scholarliness Demonstrates achievement of scholarly inquiry for professional and academic decisions. Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry clearly stating how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions Evaluates literature resources to develop a comprehensive analysis or synthesis. Uses valid, relevant, and reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion Provides relevant evidence of scholarly inquiry but does not clearly state how the evidence informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Evaluates information from source(s) to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Uses some valid, relevant, reliable outside sources to contribute to the threaded discussion. Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Information is taken from source(s) with some interpretation/evaluation, but not enough to develop a coherent analysis or synthesis. Little valid, relevant, or reliable outside sources are used to contribute to the threaded discussion. Demonstrates little or no understanding of the topic. Discusses using scholarly inquiry but does not state how scholarly inquiry informed or changed professional or academic decisions. Information is taken from source(s) without any interpretation/evaluation. The posting uses information that is not valid, relevant, or reliable No evidence of the use of scholarly inquiry to inform or change professional or academic decisions. Information is not valid, relevant, or reliable Performance Category 10 9 8 4 0 Application of Course Knowledge – Demonstrate the ability to analyze, synthesize, and/or apply principles and concepts learned in the course lesson and outside readings and relate them to real-life professional situations Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources; Applies concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life. Posts make direct reference to concepts discussed in the lesson or drawn from relevant outside sources. Applies concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Interactions with classmates are relevant to the discussion topic but do not make direct reference to lesson content Posts are generally on topic but do not build knowledge by incorporating concepts and principles from the lesson. Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Does not demonstrate a solid understanding of the principles and concepts presented in the lesson Posts do not adequately address the question posed either by the discussion prompt or the instructor’s launch post. Posts are superficial and do not reflect an understanding of the lesson content Does not attempt to apply lesson concepts to personal experience in their professional setting and or relevant application to real life Posts are not related to the topics provided by the discussion prompt or by the instructor; attempts by the instructor to redirect the student are ignored No discussion of lesson concepts to personal experience in the professional setting and or relevant application to real life Performance Category 5 4 3 2 0 Interactive Dialogue Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days. (5 points possible per graded thread) Exceeds minimum post requirements Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts three or more times in each graded thread, over three separate days. Replies to a post posed by faculty and to a peer Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week. Replies to each graded thread topic posted by the course instructor, by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT, of each week, and posts a minimum of two times in each graded thread, on separate days Replies to a question posed by a peer Summarizes what was learned from the lesson, readings, and other student posts for the week. Meets expectations of 2 posts on 2 different days. The main post is not made by the Wednesday deadline Does not reply to a question posed by a peer or faculty Has only one post for the week Discussion posts contain few, if any, new ideas or applications; often are a rehashing or summary of other students’ comments Does not post to the thread No connections are made to the topic Minus 1 Point Minus 2 Point Minus 3 Point Minus 4 Point Minus 5 Point Grammar, Syntax, APA Note: if there are only a few errors in these criteria, please note this for the student in as an area for improvement. If the student does not make the needed corrections in upcoming weeks, then points should be deducted. Points deducted for improper grammar, syntax and APA style of writing. The source of information is the APA Manual 6th Edition 2-3 errors in APA format. Written responses have 2-3 grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Writing style is generally clear, focused, and facilitates communication. 4-5 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 4-5 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is somewhat focused. 6-7 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 6-7 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is slightly focused making discussion difficult to understand. 8-10 errors in APA format. Writing responses have 8-10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style is not focused, making discussion difficult to understand. Post contains greater than 10 errors in APA format. Written responses have more than 10 grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. Writing style does not facilitate communication. The student continues to make repeated mistakes in any of the above areas after written correction by the instructor 0 points lost -5 points lost Total Participation Requirements per discussion thread The student answers the threaded discussion question or topic on one day and posts a second response on another day. The student does not meet the minimum requirement of two postings on two different days Early Participation Requirement per discussion thread The student must provide a substantive answer to the graded discussion question(s) or topic(s), posted by the course instructor (not a response to a peer), by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m. MT of each week. The student does not meet the requirement of a substantive response to the stated question or topic by Wednesday at 11:59 pm MT.
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01A statement of what behavioural therapy targets and how.
- 02A statement of the cognitive mediation claim that CBT adds.
- 03Benefits of CBT, each traced back to that claim.
- 04At least one presentation where behavioural therapy alone is sufficient.
- 05A note on the evidence about whether the cognitive component adds outcome.
Two mechanisms, then the cases that separate them
What behavioural therapy targets
State the learning account of symptom maintenance and the methods that follow from it.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Consequences and learning named as the mechanism, not just techniques listed.
What the cognitive component adds
State the mediation claim and how appraisal becomes a target of intervention.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Mediation between event and response stated explicitly.
Benefits that follow
Give the durability, transferability and reach arguments, each traced to mediation.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A benefit derived from the mechanism rather than asserted.
Where behavioural therapy alone wins
Name specific phobia and behavioural activation as cases that resist the general claim.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A named presentation, not a hedge about individual differences.
What the component studies show
Report that dismantling studies have struggled to isolate a cognitive advantage.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Evidence cited about components rather than about CBT overall.
Where the comparison has actually been tested
Recommended databases
- NCBI Bookshelf
- PubMed Central
- Cochrane Library
- GCU Library
Search sequence
- 1.Read an overview that states the CBT model of maintenance before writing the comparison.
- 2.Search for dismantling or component analysis studies of CBT.
- 3.Find the current first-line recommendation for specific phobia.
- 4.Note one condition where a head-to-head comparison exists.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
The CBT model and its techniques, for the mediation claim stated in the source's own terms.
Efficacy and Moderators of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis Versus Other Psychological Interventions: An Individual-Participant Data Meta-Analysis
Frontiers in Psychiatry · 2020
A comparison of CBT against other psychological treatments, for evidence on relative benefit.
Efficacy of Integrated Exposure Therapy vs Integrated Coping Skills Therapy for Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder
JAMA Psychiatry · 2019
Exposure-based versus coping-skills treatment, a worked example of the behavioural comparison.
How important are the common factors in psychotherapy? An update
World Psychiatry · 2015
Common-factors evidence, for why component differences are hard to isolate.
Which psychotherapy is most effective and acceptable in the treatment of adults with a (sub)clinical borderline personality disorder?
Psychological Medicine · 2023
A network comparison of psychotherapies, for how the models rank when tested together.
Before you post to the Week 5 forum
Common mistakes
- Comparing the two as feature lists rather than as mechanisms.
- Describing CBT as simply newer or more comprehensive.
- Claiming CBT is superior across all presentations.
- Omitting behavioural activation and exposure, which are the strongest counterexamples.
- Treating 'evidence-based' as an argument rather than as a claim needing a citation.
Submission checklist
- Have you named the maintaining mechanism each model proposes?
- Is every benefit connected to the cognitive mediation claim?
- Have you named a case where behavioural therapy alone suffices?
- Did you mention the component-analysis question?
- Are your claims about effectiveness attached to a source?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.
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Maren Caldwell
MSN, RN, CNE
Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation
Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.

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Evidence-based practice and clinical education
Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.