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Thought for today:
‘Stop it, and give yourself a chance.’
— Aaron Beck
#thoughtfortoday #cbt #cognitivebehaviouraltherapy #aaronbeck #psychotherapy #counselling #albertellis #rebt
Following the death of Aaron Beck on Monday, there has been much coverage of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
One national paper pronounced CBT “the miracle cure for depression and anxiety”.
There is a great deal about that statement that is misleading or incorrect – which in itself is good going for just seven words.
The National Health Service has adopted CBT as its “primary therapeutic intervention”.
There is good evidence that it is effective when done properly, and when done for as long as a client needs it to be done (therapists are generally not medical doctors in the UK, they have clients, not patients).
The effectiveness of ALL the many varied models of psychotherapy is pretty consistent at around 70%.
The evidence that the relationship between the therapist and the client is a primary indicator of the effectiveness of the therapy is also consistent and strong.
When I trained in Mindfulness it was to use MBCT – a form of mindfulness used with clients suffering from persistent depression – the ones that CBT didn’t work with.
I don’t use CBT in my work, however, I do use REBT, developed by Albert Ellis and according to Wikipedia the earliest form of CBT.
I think both men, Beck & Ellis, deserve enormous credit for their pioneering work which has undoubtedly helped a lot of people around the world.
It’s just not a miracle, or a cure, or just for depression, or anxiety!
