In my extensive training and continued
education, I have practiced and/or
familiarized myself with many
psychotherapy approaches and
modalities. No two approaches are the
same, no two people are same, and
likewise, no two therapists are the same.
What is a good combination for one
person may not be for another. Given all the
types of psychotherapy approaches, what
has the best chance of being helpful
and therapeutic? Of the approaches I
have experienced, it is my opinion that
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most
effective with the greatest number of people.
What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
The best answer would be in book form,
but we can go with a much shorter
answer. The simplest way to describe the
key concept of cognitive and behavioral
theory, is that one thinks about
something, a feeling forms about it, and a
behavior occurs in response to the
feeling. It is very natural, generally works
fine, and quickly becomes a cycle.
However, when a behavior is not working
well, it can be hard to pinpoint what is
wrong. This is especially true when there
is a feeling present and consistent with
the behavior. This is where a therapist,
experienced with CBT, can be helpful.
An article published in Front Psychiatry
in 2018, entitled "Why Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy is the Current Gold
Standard of Psychotherapy", speaks to the
long history and many comparative
studies done involving CBT and other
therapies.