NCBI – US National Library of Medicine – Frontiers in Psychiatry – “Gold Standards,” Plurality and Monocultures: The Need for Diversity in Psychotherapy – Published online 2018 Apr 24
Back when I was in graduate school studying for my Masters in Social Work, CBT (Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy) was enjoying it’s moment in the sun. I paid close attention. I read the books, took the courses and attended weekend trainings. In private practice, I spent years in a CBT peer study group, applying the rigorous techniques and theories, learning from and supporting my peers. The glow faded. CBT helped some but clearly did not resonate with others. The CBT approach failed to consider too many barriers to healing.
A recent piece of research published in Frontiers of Psychiatry called, “Gold Standards,” Plurality and Monocultures: The Need for Diversity in Psychotherapy” confirms what I’ve come to know: that plurality is where it’s at.
Different approaches work with different people. Responsibility is on the practitioner to have a full cadre of approaches to offer. I am grateful to have had the instinct, energy and curiosity to focus over the years on developing many skilsets, or languages of healing. Benefiting from the short-term measurability of outcomes of CBT and responding to insurance company pressures for those short-term gains, CBT continues to garner attention. About 50% of clients reaching out to me for therapy mention during the initial call that they are looking for CBT. I let them know that, while I am able and willing to integrate the CBT lens in our work, I would not limit our work to that narrow focus. As diverse as people are, and as varied as our difficulties are, different forms of evidence-based psychotherapy are helpful.
The Frontiers in Psychiatry article concludes, “The different psychotherapeutic approaches have their strengths, be it a focus on interpersonal relationships, on cognitions and learning, on experiential, affective or unconscious and defensive processes. Different patients may benefit from different approaches, or may benefit through different routes.” Yup.