Collection: CBT and Its Applications

In the early 1950s, a disillusioned psychologist named Albert Ellis searched for a more scientific way of treating his patients, who said they felt better but were still not in control of their lives after psychoanalytic treatment. Inspired by Asian, Greek, and modern philosophers, Ellis combined humanistic philosophy and behavioural therapy to come up with what he called “rational therapy”, now rational emotive behaviour therapy. It focuses on resolving emotional and behavioural problems, enabling people to live more fulfilling lives. Working separately and starting a few years later, a psychiatrist named Aaron Beck – looking to support the Freudian theory that depression was anger directed against oneself – found instead that most of his patients were depressing themselves with maladaptive irrational thoughts. He began to develop cognitive therapy in response. Since those years, Ellis and Beck have become known as the men behind the two main strands of what is today called cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT. The most rigorously researched genre of any psychotherapy, CBT has gained prominence as the gold standard treatment for a wide variety of mental health problems. At least 20 different therapies come under the umbrella of “CBT”. This collection examines the basic concepts of CBT - including common myths surrounding it - and shows how it has been applied to the treatment of common mental health issues, such as general anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, depression, and phobias. Several courses explore the so-called “third wave” of CBT therapies, which incorporate mindfulness techniques.