 | I did a double take when I read in the Daily Mail that the well-respected psychologist Oliver James had denounced CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) as scam that didn’t work. Saying CBT or hypnotherapy doesn’t work is not the whole story because we need to examine whether the statement means that the therapy didn’t work or the therapist was unable to help. There are lots of different therapies out there taking similar or different approaches to CBT, but as a therapist I am not concerned with the technique as much as whether the person who has sought my help believes that by talking to me they can get better. |
It really is important to find the right person to help you. Did you ever go to a mechanic who couldn’t find out why your car was making that funny noise but then the person who delivered a bunch of flowers gave you answer to the problem? When we have trouble with our minds we might go to the GP but he can’t help with everything. More likely he would refer you to a specialist and then you end up in the hands of a junior doctor. Then you worry he won’t have enough experience and ask to see a senior doctor. But there are good and bad doctors, and it doesn’t mean that nobody can help you just because so far no one has succeeded.
But reading further into the Daily Mail article, I realised that the headline had been misleading. It wasn’t saying CBT didn’t work but that it was not a long term solution. I would argue that the journey towards achieving wellbeing of the mind is never likely to be solved in one go. After all if you had work done on your car this year, doesn’t mean to say the same issue might recur or a completely different one arise the following year.
The vital thing with therapy is that it has to work for the individual and if it needs occasional tuning up to keep your life on track, that can only be a good thing.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2828509/CBT-scam-waste-money-Popular-talking-therapy-not-long-term-solution-says-leading-psychologist.html
But reading further into the Daily Mail article, I realised that the headline had been misleading. It wasn’t saying CBT didn’t work but that it was not a long term solution. I would argue that the journey towards achieving wellbeing of the mind is never likely to be solved in one go. After all if you had work done on your car this year, doesn’t mean to say the same issue might recur or a completely different one arise the following year.
The vital thing with therapy is that it has to work for the individual and if it needs occasional tuning up to keep your life on track, that can only be a good thing.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2828509/CBT-scam-waste-money-Popular-talking-therapy-not-long-term-solution-says-leading-psychologist.html
RSS Feed
