The rise of CBT has been welcomed by many as safe, effective alternative to drug treatments for mental illness. However, there are also fears that CBT has grown too dominant, crowding out other less structured, more time consuming forms of psychotherapy.
The fact is, CBT doesn't work for everyone. Precious resources could be better managed, and alternative approaches sensibly considered, if there were a way to predict in advance those patients who are likely to benefit from CBT, and those who are not.
The first factor includes a patient's insight into thoughts that pop into their heads (so-called "automatic thoughts"); their ability to identify and distinguish their emotions; and their use of safety behaviours to cope with their problems (e.g. avoiding parties to cope with social anxiety). In other words, the researchers explained, this is the patient's "ability to identify thoughts and feelings, and share them in a non-defensive, focused way." The second "attitudes" factor refers to, among other things, the patient's optimism about the outcome of therapy, and their acceptance that they must take responsibility for change.
The higher patients' scored on the first factor (their capacity for participation in CBT), the greater reduction they tended to show in their illness symptoms, based on measures taken before and after the course of CBT.
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Category(s):Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Source material from British Psychological Society
