Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a common treatment for many mental health problems and experiences, including anxiety and panic attacks, as opposed to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) which focuses on helping people change their behaviour patterns, according to a study. However, it is largely ineffective for the majority of patients, the study said.
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Why is CBT unethical?
First, the sort of issues CBT draws attention to – bias, false beliefs, poor inferences – are all relatively common, even in mentally healthy people. As a great deal of psychological research has shown, we are all prone to poor reasoning. CBT instills the notion that your faulty or irrational thought patterns are responsible for maladaptive behavior and mental health problems. If one accepts this premise, then some practitioners may dismiss the other factors which play a part in mental illness such as genetics and biology. According to famed British psychologist Oliver James, though, CBT is a “scam” that does little to address underlying psychological issues. James, a psychodynamic therapist, argues that until people understand what led to their psychological troubles, those troubles are likely to reoccur. It’s often the preferred type of psychotherapy because it can quickly help you identify and cope with specific challenges. It generally requires fewer sessions than other types of therapy and is done in a structured way. CBT is a useful tool to address emotional challenges.
Why is CBT Criticised?
Criticisms of Traditional CBT Given the dominance of CBT in certain settings, it is not surprising that the approach has garnered its fair share of critics. Opponents have frequently argued that the approach is too mechanistic and fails to address the concerns of the “whole” patient. CBT as a modality is based around gaslighting. It’s all about telling a patient that the world is safe, bad feelings are temporary, and that pain (emotional or physical) is a “faulty or unhelpful” distortion of thinking. That’s literally in CBT’s definition on the APA website. ‘While studies show that in the short-term – six to 12 months – patients who have received CBT are more likely to report themselves as ‘recovered’ compared to those who have received no treatment, these results are not sustained in the long-term. ‘CBT is largely ineffective for the majority of patients. The 5Ps is however commonly associated with the CBT model, in line with Johnstone and Dallos (2014). Therefore, for our example, I will use this Biopsychosocial idea and draw on a range of different underpinning approaches, however coming predominantly from a CBT perspective. CBT primarily helps clients recognize and change problematic patterns of thinking and behaving. By contrast, DBT primarily helps clients regulate intense emotions and improve interpersonal relationships through validation, acceptance and behavior change. CBT is a common treatment for many mental health problems and experiences, including: anger problems. anxiety and panic attacks. bipolar disorder.
Why is CBT unethical?
First, the sort of issues CBT draws attention to – bias, false beliefs, poor inferences – are all relatively common, even in mentally healthy people. As a great deal of psychological research has shown, we are all prone to poor reasoning. She says some CBT principles are outdated, victim-blaming, and can promote toxic positivity. Because CBT assumes that patients’ thinking is false or distorted, therapists may unintentionally overlook issues that the patient experiences. CBT combines cognitive therapy and behaviour therapy CBT focuses on changing unhelpful or unhealthy thoughts and behaviours. It is a combination of 2 therapies: ‘cognitive therapy’ and ‘behaviour therapy’. The basis of both these techniques is that healthy thoughts lead to healthy feelings and behaviours. DBT focuses on helping people change their behavior patterns, as opposed to trying to think or talk through the issues they are struggling with.