Cognitive Therapy Today

In a review in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, it was noted that children and adolescents who experience psychological harm caused by traumatic events are often treated by practitioners who are not aware of, and do not employ, treatments that are “based on the best available evidence.”

Meta-analyses were conducted on interventions that included cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in individual and group settings, play therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and others.

The traumas themselves covered a wide range and included sexual abuse, domestic violence, serious illness, and natural disasters. The CBT methods included exposure techniques, modification of inaccurate cognitions, reframing counterproductive cognitions regarding the trauma, and others.   

Based on their analyses, the review authors concluded there was “strong evidence … that individual and group CBT can decrease psychological harm among symptomatic children and adolescents exposed to trauma.”

Review authors: H. R. Wethington, R. A. Hahn, D. S Fuqua-Whitley, et al.

Watch and listen as Dr. Robert Findling discusses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adolescent depression and the findings of the TORDIA study published in JAMA earlier this year.

Robert L. Findling, M.D., is the Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, and Professor of Psychiatry and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

A recent article in Current Opinion in Psychiatry summarized the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines and reviews of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for children and adolescents with mental health problems.

NICE is the UK’s independent organization responsible for providing national guidance on the “promotion of good health and the prevention and treatment of ill health.”

For the treatment of depression in children and young people, NICE guidelines recommended “that pharmacological approaches should not be the first-line approach to the treatment of depression in this age group.” It recommended instead “the initial use of psychosocial interventions, including CBT, for all severities of depression.”

Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials suggested the importance of CBT for children and adolescents with generalized anxiety disorder, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. More limited evidence suggested CBT’s benefit in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and others conditions.

The authors noted that CBT for these populations “should be extended by further primary and secondary research.”

Review authors: A. Munoz-Solomando, T. Kendall, C. J. Whittington

At the American Psychological Association’s 2008 annual convention in Boston, Aaron T. Beck, M.D., received a presidential award for distinguished lifetime contributions to the public understanding of psychology.

At the 2008 commencement of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, an honorary degree was conferred upon Aaron T. Beck, M.D., for his contributions to psychiatry and mental health.

Listen to Dr. Judith Beck’s recent interview with Dr. David van Nuys, from the Wise Counsel Podcast series on mentalhelp.net. 

Topics included the history of cognitive therapy (CT) and CT for weight loss.

A study in BMC Psychiatry reported that the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) was well established in Europe and North America but little was known about its effectiveness in non-Western cultures.

A pilot study of group CBT for SAD was conducted in Japan (groups of 3 or 4; average number of sessions per group was 15). The CBT methods included psychoeducation regarding anxiety, experiments to reduce safety behaviors, cognitive restructuring for dysfunctional assumptions, and others. Where needed, co-administration of antidepressants and benzodiazepines was allowed.

The researchers found a significant reduction in symptoms pre- to post-treatment, and concluded that group CBT “can bring about a similar degree of symptom reduction among Japanese patients with SAD as among Western patients.”

Study authors: J. Chen, Y. Nakano, T. Ietzugu, S. Ogawa, et al.

A study in the International Journal of Impotence Research reported that men with erectile dysfunction (ED) benefited from Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). An important aspect of this approach was that it removed much of the anxiety and embarrassment associated with face-to-face discussions of sexual problems. The CBT protocol included the men and their partners, and focused on psychological and relationship factors related to ED.

Designed as a 10-week program, couples participated in communication exercises, sensate focus activities, and email contact with therapists when needed. Improvements in ED were significantly greater among men who completed the program compared to those who received no treatment, and these findings were consistent with face-to-face psychological treatments. Additionally, the positive treatment effects remained stable during the 3-month follow-up period.

Study authors: M. P. McCabe, E. Price, L. Piterman, D. Lording 

In a recent article in the Newark Star Ledger, J. K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, discussed how cognitive behavioral therapy helped her to overcome a serious depression she experienced in her mid-twenties while she was a struggling writer and single mother.

Dr. Aaron Beck was honored on June 4, 2008, by the Philadelphia Behavior Therapy Association (PBTA) and the Drexel University Department of Psychology’s presentation of a Lifetime Achievement Award. (View PBTA announcement.)