Some argue that CBT is too superficial and only addresses the client’s symptoms. Managing symptoms is an important step in treatment, but CBT doesn’t stop there. It is true that CBT therapists help clients learn to manage their emotions and engage in healthy coping mechanisms, but they also work with clients on underlying beliefs and assumptions that have been formed throughout a client’s life.
A high-quality CBT therapist works with each client to set individual goals and chart progress towards those goals. Therapists should also create a case conceptualization for each client, which helps them determine an individualized treatment plan. Conceptualizations can incorporate a client’s relevant life history, core beliefs, reactions to past and current experiences, and their goals and aspirations. This holistic approach to treatment can help the therapist address the client as a whole person and avoid a superficial therapeutic relationship.
In this video, Beck Institute experts Dr. Judith Beck, Dr. Norman Cotterell, Dr. Rob Hindman, and Dr. Allen Miller discuss the myth that CBT is superficial.