A Computational Approach to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Abstract

We introduce the computational approach, which is a research method used to build an explicit mathematical model of information processing in the brain. If the computational approach is used in psychiatric research, it is called computational psychiatry. In the cognitive behavioral therapy models, the cognitive processes that occur from the input of stimuli to the behavioral responses are modeled verbally. The computational approach enables the sophistication of models and prediction of new phenomena and interventions through simulation. We explained the computational approach and four generative models. We then described the studies on cognitive behavioral therapy using a reinforcement learning model for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Additionally, we described the four steps for practices recommended when employing the computational approach. Finally, we discussed the future challenges of the computational approach.