Scott Miller, Ph.D, in his Top Performance Blog reports that the Swedish government’s fervent but misguided efforts to identify specific approaches for specific psychiatric diagnoses were a waste of precious time and resources. In fact, the unilateral plan to use only Cognitive and Behavioral techniques in efforts to support clients’ mental health have resulted in an escalation of mental health distress in Sweden. This is not to say that the CBT modality is ineffective in itself. It merely confirms what many clinicians intuitively know: that there is no one-size-fits-all solution and that imposing one modality on all clients is minimizing and dismissive. Growth, change, recovery and healing… the journey to experiencing optimal well being… is so much more nuanced than can be activated by a toolbox concrete techniques printed out on worksheets and practiced at home. I guess the Swedes had to figure this out the long and costly way.
