CBT and psychodynamic therapy: A dialogue

Abstract

CBT and psychodynamic therapists often look at each other suspiciously and harbor deep concerns about the effectiveness and validity of each others' approach. Indeed differences in both theory and practice are substantial, as can be observed by the chapters in this volume, written by experienced scholar/clinicians representing each view (and related approaches). Also, the two perspectives differ in the degree to which they rely on empirical data to support their effectiveness and their proposed mechanisms of disorder etiology and therapeutic change. This creates an additional difficulty in making comparisons. This brief discussion makes an attempt to summarize the main differences but also domains where the various approaches intersect, as shown by the chapters in this volume. We consider it a problem, for purposes of maintaining a fruitful dialogue among experienced clinicians across orientations, that the different schools do not recognize each other's value, in spite of the fact that several meta-analyses show effectiveness for each type of therapy and at least some meta-analytic evidence provides support for their equitable effects.