How Not To Learn Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Would-be learners of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) may be hampered by learning traps that impede effective acquisition of the skills necessary to provide this type of therapy to clients. Among these pitfalls are the possibility of isolation, therapeutic fanaticism, lack of seriousness, therapeutic drift, and thinking CBT is antipsychodynamic or antipsychoanalytic. The author advocates immersion learning of CBT, arguing that theoretical learning must be supplemented by supervision and active use of the method in one’s patients. Presented are two case vignettes demonstrating therapeutic drift and therapeutic fanaticism to highlight potential therapeutic impasses that may ensue from these pitfalls.