Common Myths of CBT

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  • The singular goal of clear thinking

    • The goals of CBT include the relationship to thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and context, as well as the validity and adaptive components of thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and context. What might appear to be simple, clear thinking depends on many variables, such as physical health, inflammation, hormones, neurotransmitters, exercise, nutrition, sleep, attachment histories, and current social support networks. Another way to describe this process is to say the methods of CBT are top (mind and brain processing) down AS WELL as the bottom (including the myriad of complex physiological systems) up. In CBT, the key targets include acceptance, change, integration, and adaptive tolerance of diverse thoughts, feelings, sensations, and behavior.

  • Lack of interest in the past

    • Attachment styles, ACEs: adverse childhood events and early beliefs or implicit sensory memory play a significant role in conceptualizing therapy goals.

  • Neglect of transference

    • Various dimensions of the therapeutic relationship are critical.

  • Avoidance of pharmacotherapy

    • Some data suggest medication has an important role in treatment planning.

  • Band-Aid Cure

    • The goal is for the client to learn how to be their own ‘best friend’ and ‘therapist.’ There are reformational components, such as coping tools and resources, as well as transformational components, such as replacing maladaptive beliefs about self, others, the future, and the meaning of the biological or nervous system sensations.

  • Non-dynamic model

    • CBT emphasizes that the human condition is not static or uni-dimensional. The human condition is extraordinarily dynamic and complex regarding biological, sociological, and psychological dimensions. Nevertheless. basic lifestyle strategies such as (N. E. U. R. O.) Nutrition, Exercise, Unwinding or emotional regulation, Restorative sleep, and Optimizing cognitive activity are essential for maintaining this dynamic and complex cooperation of the intricate biological, neurological, psychological, sociological, and contextual systems and domains.

  • Acquisition of “gimmicks.”

    • CBT comes from empirically-based methods, such as exposure exercises for anxiety and mindfulness and positive imagery strategies for a myriad of processes and purposes. The brain and its narrative partner, the mind, have significant roles in perception, focus, attention, memory, cognitive bias, etc. Since we now know that complex Cognitive Biases have an essential role in perception, focus, memory, etc.: Is it better to have a static maladaptive negative Cognitive Bias or a more flexible and adaptive bias?

  • Ignores implicit memory and somatic memory

    • Implicit and explicit memories, whether somatic or cognitive, are often discovered as we search for core beliefs and underlying schemas.