The Problem with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Book excerpt: Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been declared the therapy of choice for the NHS and has been shown to be very effective in certain situations - but can it be used to treat all mental health problems? Success breeds success, and this very fact is responsible - at least in part - for the spectacular growth of CBT-based treatments. CBT has challenged what was formerly a rather closed system of research in the psychotherapy field. It has brought a breath of (not always welcome) fresh air to a world where assumptions of the most sweeping kind were often made on the basis of the experiences of a handful of patients.This book looks at the complex history of CBT and its much-vaunted evidence base. The authors' calm and factual approach allows the reader to critically assess the failures of CBT, as well as its successes.