Maybe the world doesn't WANT more CBT…
I have just been waiting to write about this article all day!
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
He and three colleagues from the UK and US issued a statement saying there had been more studies on CBT, but that did not necessarily mean it was more effective than other types of therapy.
“It is scientifically irresponsible to continue to imply and act as though CBTs are more effective, as has been done in justifying the expenditure of £173m to train CBT therapists throughout England.
“Such claims harm the public by restricting patient choice and discourage some psychologically distressed people from seeking treatment,” he said.”
- This argument reminds me of my Dr. Drew Westen grad seminar days… Everyone is using CBT because it’s the easiest to research, has the most funding, etc. etc. Can’t say that I disagree — there is definitely too much hype about CBT. However, I don’t think that most professionals follow CBT guidelines even 75% of the time — it’s just not practical! Dr. Cooper has a great explanation of this:
Every therapist is going to respond similarly to some extent… maybe one is going to focus on though restructuring more than childhood, but you’re still going to have that consoling feeling. I think that whatever this common feeling is makes up the healing component of therapy… which is why the best predictor of treatment outcome is therapeutic alliance. This common set of elements that spans the different types of therapies has been termed the ‘Dodo bird’ verdict. I’ll have to write a post on that later…
Anyway, it’s nice to see someone arguing against CBT for a change! The world (and psych field) could use a little more psychoanalysis 
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>best predictor of treatment outcome is therapeutic alliance
Yes, that is why CBT therapists always create a healthy therapeutic alliance.
I’m not supprised you don’t like CBT, you don’t understand it, you don’t know how it works, and you don’t know how CBT therapists work with clients.
If you can’t be bothered to understand what you are against, then you look bad, not CBT.
TT,
I think that you completely misunderstood my post. I’m not arguing that CBT is useless — it is definitely the therapy that I’ve had the most experience with, personally and academically.
My issue here is that the UK government provisioned funding exclusively for CBT therapists. While I do think that CBT can be an effective treatment in many cases, it is definitely not a flawless therapy that should deserve exclusive attention and funding.
As a mental health professional just reading TT’s response to “greythinking” indicated to me that this was an individual with a fundamental inclination to absolute “black or white” views. CBT therapists don’t always do anything, nor does anyone else – we are individuals. Nor are people who dissent from any particular view or philosophy necessarily ignorant as TT implies. Sounds like she/he swallowed the CBT book?