The Behavioral & Cognitive Lineage
From conditioning to cognitive revolution to third wave — the most researched tradition in psychotherapy
Clinical and evidence statements in this lineage remain under review. The source checks below apply only to their stated treatment, population and outcome.
Guideline sources for approaches in this lineage
CBT
Guidelines and official sources (59)
58 clinical guideline checks · 1 evidence registry check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Recommendation for the stated population
CBT is a named adult depression treatment option.
Scope: Adults with depression
- Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults (CG113)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE recommends CBT for specified GAD and panic-disorder presentations. The relevant protocol and treatment step matter.
Scope: Adults with GAD or panic disorder
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (NG116)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE recommends trauma-focused CBT protocols, including CPT, cognitive therapy for PTSD, NET and PE; generic CBT is too imprecise.
Scope: Adults with acute stress disorder or clinically important PTSD symptoms; time since trauma matters
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder: treatment (CG31)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE recommends CBT including ERP, with intensity matched to impairment.
Scope: Adults with OCD; intensity and combined treatment depend on impairment
- Psychosis and schizophrenia in adults: prevention and management (CG178)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE recommends CBT delivered to the specified psychosis protocol.
Scope: Adults with psychosis or schizophrenia
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD strongly recommends CPT, EMDR and PE by name. This does not give every form of CBT the same recommendation.
Scope: Adults with PTSD
- Cognitive therapy for depression
Discussed in the source
The archive rates this specific treatment Strong under 1998 criteria; this is not a universal CBT rating or CPG grade.
Scope: Cognitive therapy for depression
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Recommendation for the stated population
APA strongly recommends the trauma-focused CBT family for adult PTSD. Footnote 4 defines a broad grouping, not a specific therapy.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; trauma-focused CBT family compared with no intervention or treatment as usual
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly suggests trauma-focused cognitive behavioral psychotherapy for PTSD prevention in acute stress disorder. This is distinct from immediate support for everyone exposed to trauma.
Scope: Adults diagnosed with acute stress disorder; prevention of subsequent PTSD.
- Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly suggests suicide-focused CBT-based psychotherapy to reduce attempts in this population. Generic CBT is not interchangeable with a suicide-focused protocol.
Scope: Suicide-focused CBT-based psychotherapy for adults aged 18 and over with suicidal behavior within the past six months.
- Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly suggests suicide-focused CBT, including problem-solving-based psychotherapies. The ideation outcome differs from recommendation 5’s attempt outcome.
Scope: Adults aged 18 and over with a history of self-directed violence; reducing suicidal ideation.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Pregnancy
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD strongly recommends offering CBT for prevention in this at-risk population. Treatment of an existing depressive episode is addressed separately.
Scope: Pregnant patients at risk of perinatal depression; individual or group delivery.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Pregnancy
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly suggests CBT for treating perinatal depression.
Scope: Depression during pregnancy or postpartum.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Pregnancy
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly suggests psychotherapy, naming CBT as an example, or yoga or both for this population.
Scope: Anxiety symptoms during or after pregnancy.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypertension in Primary Care
Discussed in the source
The discussion reports studies combining CBT with dietary support. Recommendation 19 strongly favors low-sodium diet plus physical activity; its strength cannot be assigned to CBT by itself.
Scope: Combined lifestyle interventions for hypertension, including low-sodium diet with CBT.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Non-Surgical Management of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis
Discussed in the source
The appendix names CBT as an optional psychosocial or behavioral intervention, guided by availability and patient preference. This is ungraded implementation guidance, not a separately graded osteoarthritis recommendation.
Scope: Conceptual approach to chronic primary (nociplastic) pain when self-management strategies are insufficient.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests cognitive behavioral therapy among seven unranked psychotherapy options (weak for). Treatment strategy also depends on severity, chronicity, prior response and preference.
Scope: Adults with uncomplicated MDD choosing psychotherapy.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD strongly recommends first-line evidence-based psychotherapy, referring to the list that includes cognitive behavioral therapy. This is a class-level recommendation, with no preferred individual approach.
Scope: Pregnant or breastfeeding adults with mild-to-moderate MDD.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests CBT during continuation treatment to reduce relapse or recurrence (weak for). CBT, IPT and MBCT are not ranked against one another.
Scope: Remitted MDD with high risk of relapse or recurrence.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD suggests first-line psychotherapy, including CBT, considering preferences and medication safety (weak for). The recommendation does not establish one psychotherapy as superior.
Scope: Adults aged 65 or older with mild-to-moderate MDD.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD suggests CBT-based bibliotherapy as an adjunct, or an alternative when other treatments are declined or inaccessible (weak for). This concerns a specific delivery format.
Scope: Adults with MDD; CBT-based bibliotherapy.
- Management of Bipolar Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests CBT alongside pharmacotherapy (weak for). It finds insufficient evidence to prefer CBT over the other listed adjunctive psychotherapies.
Scope: Adults with bipolar I or II who are not acutely manic.
- Management of Bipolar Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests CBT for residual anxiety in this defined population (weak for). This does not extend to acute mania.
Scope: Adults with fully or partially remitted bipolar disorder and residual anxiety symptoms.
- Management of First-Episode Psychosis and Schizophrenia
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD suggests psychosis-focused CBT with medication (weak for). The recommendation should not be transferred to arbitrary CBT programmes.
Scope: Adults with schizophrenia or prodromal/early psychosis.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Substance Use Disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD includes CBT among treatment options: weak recommendations for alcohol and cannabis use disorders, and a strong recommendation for initial cocaine-use-disorder treatment. Preference and availability guide selection.
Scope: Adults with alcohol-, cannabis-, or cocaine-use disorder.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Tobacco Use Treatment
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD strongly supports more intensive counseling and finds insufficient evidence to prefer another counseling approach over standard CBT. That comparative uncertainty is not a recommendation against CBT.
Scope: Behavioral counseling for adult tobacco cessation.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Chronic Multisymptom Illness
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly recommends CBT, drawing substantially on indirect evidence from these symptom syndromes. This is a recommendation for managing symptoms and function, not a claim that the illness is psychological or that CBT cures it.
Scope: Chronic multisymptom illness and symptoms consistent with fibromyalgia, IBS, or ME/CFS.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management and Rehabilitation of Post-Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD discusses a brief CBT trial and describes CBT as a possible fatigue-management approach. These passages are not a separate graded CBT recommendation for treating mTBI.
Scope: Behavioral symptoms or fatigue in people with symptoms attributed to post-acute mTBI.
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Back Pain
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests CBT for chronic low back pain with a weak recommendation. This is narrower than a recommendation for every pain condition or acute low back pain.
Scope: Adults with chronic low back pain.
- Management of Headache
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds insufficient evidence for or against CBT for headache. This neutral recommendation is not a recommendation against treatment.
Scope: CBT for headache treatment or prevention.
- Tinnitus
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly recommends provider-delivered CBT and sound therapy combined with CBT in a multidisciplinary team. The scope is tinnitus management, not elimination of the tinnitus sound.
Scope: Adults with bothersome tinnitus; CBT delivered by a trained provider.
- Management of Adult Overweight and Obesity
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD weakly supports cognitive behavioral interventions for internalized weight stigma. The discussion defines a broad category; this is not a recommendation for CBT to treat every weight concern or an eating disorder.
Scope: Adults experiencing internalized weight bias and stigma within overweight/obesity care.
- Use of Opioids in the Management of Chronic Pain
Discussed in the source
The algorithm lists CBT as a non-opioid psychological treatment option. This sidebar is not a separately graded CBT recommendation or an opioid-use-disorder treatment guideline.
Scope: Non-opioid options within chronic pain care.
- Primary Care Management of Chronic Kidney Disease
Discussed in the source
The appendix names CBT among behavioral pain-management options, selected by availability and preference. This is ungraded guidance; much supporting evidence comes from people without kidney disease.
Scope: Adults with chronic kidney disease and chronic pain; self-management insufficient.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Primary Care Management of Asthma
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly recommends CBT for these outcomes. This recommendation was carried forward without a new evidence review and does not replace usual asthma care.
Scope: Adults with asthma; asthma-related quality of life and self-reported control.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Stroke Rehabilitation
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly recommends psychotherapy and explicitly names CBT as an example. This recommendation concerns treating depression after stroke, rather than preventing stroke or restoring motor function.
Scope: Depression following stroke.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Psychological and Other Nonpharmacological Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Adults
Recommendation for the stated population
APA strongly recommends offering CBT for this comparison.
Scope: Adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain; CBT versus usual care or another active intervention.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Psychological and Other Nonpharmacological Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Adults
Discussed in the source
APA reports insufficient evidence for this comparison. The table groups these approaches without assigning separate protocol grades.
Scope: Knee osteoarthritis; the reviewed CBT/motivational-interviewing/pain-coping-skills category versus usual care.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA finds insufficient evidence to prefer trauma-focused CBT over those comparators. Its recommendation versus no treatment or usual care does not establish superiority over active therapy.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; trauma-focused CBT versus the other active psychological treatments listed in the table.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Recommendation for the stated population
APA strongly recommends adding trauma-focused treatment in this specific combined-care comparison.
Scope: Adults with PTSD and co-occurring SUD; trauma-focused CBT plus usual SUD care versus usual SUD care alone.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Depression Across Three Age Cohorts
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA found insufficient evidence for a CBT recommendation in this age group. Adolescents have a separate recommendation.
Scope: Children with depressive disorders; initial treatment.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Depression Across Three Age Cohorts
Recommendation for the stated population
APA recommends CBT as one initial psychotherapy option.
Scope: Adolescents with depressive disorders; initial treatment, excluding psychotic depression.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Depression Across Three Age Cohorts
Recommendation for the stated population
For combined treatment, APA recommends CBT plus a second-generation antidepressant. It does not identify a superior psychotherapy monotherapy.
Scope: Adult depressive disorders, excluding psychotic depression; bipolar disorder is outside scope.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Depression Across Three Age Cohorts
Recommendation for the stated population
APA recommends group CBT over no treatment.
Scope: Adults aged 60 or older with MDD; group CBT, alone or added to usual care.
- mhGAP: brief structured psychological treatment for depression
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO strongly recommends structured psychological interventions including CBT for this population, based on moderate-certainty evidence.
Scope: Adults with moderate-to-severe depression, within the mhGAP non-specialist-care context.
- mhGAP: brief structured psychological interventions for anxiety
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO strongly recommends brief structured interventions based on CBT principles for GAD/panic, based on moderate-certainty evidence.
Scope: Adults with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder, within the mhGAP non-specialist-care context.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO includes individual, group and digital trauma-focused CBT in a conditional recommendation. The 2023 guideline book rates certainty as low, while WHO’s web summary reports moderate quality; that discrepancy remains unresolved. Delivery requires appropriate training and supervision.
Scope: Adults with PTSD, within the mhGAP non-specialist-care context.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO conditionally recommends considering CBT, with low-certainty evidence. The 2023 edition retains the 2015 recommendation because eligible new evidence was insufficient; suitability requires an individual assessment.
Scope: People living with dementia and mild-to-moderate depression.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO conditionally recommends considering CBT among the listed non-pharmacological interventions, with low-certainty evidence. This does not equate CBT with cognitive stimulation or cognitive training.
Scope: People living with dementia.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
WHO strongly recommends psychosocial interventions incorporating CBT, psychoeducation and family-focused approaches, with low-certainty evidence. This is a prevention recommendation for a defined group, rather than a general child-disorder treatment recommendation.
Scope: Children whose parents have mental health conditions; prevention of depression and anxiety.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO strongly recommends CBT, with moderate-certainty evidence. The discussion emphasizes adaptations and the ability to engage with CBT; it does not establish identical suitability across all developmental or communication needs.
Scope: Children and adolescents with autism who have anxiety.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO includes individual and group face-to-face trauma-focused CBT in a strong recommendation based on moderate-certainty evidence. Clinicians need relevant training and demonstrated competence; lay providers require comprehensive training and close supervision.
Scope: Children and adolescents with PTSD.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO conditionally recommends individual CBT and other listed psychological interventions as adjuncts to pharmacological treatment, with low-certainty evidence. This concerns maintenance in remission, not acute mania or a blanket depression recommendation.
Scope: Adults with bipolar disorder in remission.
- Psychosocial support for psychostimulant use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO strongly recommends CBT, with low-certainty evidence. This finding is specific to cocaine and stimulant dependence, rather than all substance use conditions.
Scope: Adults with cocaine or stimulant dependence.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
CBT is discussed within the reviewed psychosocial interventions. WHO conditionally recommends structured psychosocial treatment as a group, with low-certainty evidence, while noting uncertainty about individual therapy types versus usual care.
Scope: Adults with alcohol dependence.
- Self-harm: assessment, management and preventing recurrence (NG225)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE says to offer a tailored intervention and explicitly names CBT and problem-solving therapy. This does not endorse every generic protocol or establish a reduction in suicide deaths.
Scope: Adults who have self-harmed; a structured, person-centred CBT-informed intervention tailored to their needs.
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management (NG87)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE says the required ADHD-focused psychological support may include CBT components or a full course; CBT is not compulsory or universally first-line.
Scope: Adults with ADHD in the specified indications for non-drug or combined care.
- Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s (NG193)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE says to consider pain-focused CBT; outcomes and evidence limitations are described separately from other pain diagnoses.
Scope: Chronic primary pain, age 16 and over; trained pain-focused CBT.
- Sexual and Reproductive Health: Management of Erectile Dysfunction
Recommendation for the stated population
EAU gives a strong recommendation for this indicated combined-care use; it does not cover every sexual dysfunction.
Scope: Men with erectile dysfunction; indicated CBT involving the partner and combined with medical treatment.
DBT
Guidelines and official sources (9)
8 clinical guideline checks · 1 evidence registry check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Borderline personality disorder: recognition and management (CG78)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE says to consider a comprehensive DBT programme for this specified population. This does not establish a recommendation for every personality disorder or every presentation.
Scope: Women with BPD for whom reducing recurrent self-harm is a priority.
- Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide
Insufficient evidence for or against
The 2024 guideline finds insufficient evidence for or against DBT for these outcomes. This recommendation is separate from NICE’s BPD recommendation.
Scope: Adults aged 18 and over at risk of suicide; DBT for reducing suicidal ideation, suicide attempts or suicide.
- Psychotherapie bij persoonlijkheidsstoornissen
Recommendation for the stated population
DBT is named among recommended specialist BPD treatments.
Scope: BPD; treatment delivered as described and studied
- Dialectical behavior therapy for BPD
Discussed in the source
The archive lists Strong under 1998 criteria, with 2015 re-evaluation pending; this is an evidence listing.
Scope: DBT for BPD
- Self-harm: assessment, management and preventing recurrence (NG225)
Discussed in the source
NICE says to consider the adolescent adaptation, DBT-A, for this specified self-harm population. This does not grade every DBT programme or suicide-related outcome.
Scope: Children and young people with significant emotional dysregulation and frequent self-harm
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds insufficient evidence for or against DBT for PTSD. This assessment does not determine its status for other conditions.
Scope: Individual psychotherapy for adults with PTSD.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA finds insufficient evidence to recommend one of these treatment arrangements over the other. This does not assess DBT for BPD.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; DBT plus PE versus DBT alone.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
DBT is named in the reviewed third-wave therapy category. WHO recommends that category alongside other structured therapies; it does not give DBT a separate recommendation or separate certainty rating here.
Scope: Adults with moderate-to-severe depression, within the mhGAP non-specialist-care context.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
WHO conditionally supports digital interventions based on approaches including DBT, with low-certainty evidence. This is not a recommendation for every full DBT program, and the reviewed trials did not establish benefit for attempts or deaths and were underpowered for those outcomes.
Scope: Digital support for people with suicidal thoughts.
ACT
Guidelines and official sources (18)
16 clinical guideline checks · 2 evidence registry checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Acceptance and commitment therapy for depression
Discussed in the source
The archive lists Modest under 1998 criteria, with 2015 re-evaluation pending. A registry entry does not establish a depression guideline recommendation.
Scope: ACT for depression
- Acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain
Discussed in the source
The archive lists Strong under 1998 criteria, with 2015 re-evaluation pending.
Scope: ACT for chronic pain
- Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s (NG193)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE says to consider ACT or CBT for pain, delivered by appropriately trained professionals.
Scope: People aged 16 and over with chronic primary pain
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds insufficient evidence for or against ACT for PTSD. This assessment does not determine its status for other conditions.
Scope: Individual psychotherapy for adults with PTSD.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Non-Surgical Management of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis
Discussed in the source
The appendix names ACT as an optional psychosocial or behavioral intervention, guided by availability and patient preference. This is ungraded implementation guidance, not a separately graded osteoarthritis recommendation.
Scope: Conceptual approach to chronic primary (nociplastic) pain when self-management strategies are insufficient.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests acceptance and commitment therapy among seven unranked psychotherapy options (weak for). Treatment strategy also depends on severity, chronicity, prior response and preference.
Scope: Adults with uncomplicated MDD choosing psychotherapy.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD strongly recommends first-line evidence-based psychotherapy, referring to the list that includes acceptance and commitment therapy. This is a class-level recommendation, with no preferred individual approach.
Scope: Pregnant or breastfeeding adults with mild-to-moderate MDD.
- Management of First-Episode Psychosis and Schizophrenia
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD suggests the acceptance/mindfulness therapy category (weak for) and explicitly includes ACT in its evidence discussion. It does not assign ACT a separate recommendation grade.
Scope: Adults with schizophrenia; psychotherapy combined with medication.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Substance Use Disorders
Insufficient evidence for or against
The guideline reviews ACT studies and finds insufficient evidence for or against the broader mindfulness-based treatment category. This is a neutral finding for this substance-use scope.
Scope: ACT within the review of mindfulness-based treatments for substance-use disorders.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Tobacco Use Treatment
Insufficient evidence for or against
The guideline discusses ACT and finds insufficient evidence to recommend a specific behavioral counseling approach over standard CBT. Its description of ACT is not a separate positive recommendation.
Scope: ACT compared with standard CBT for adult tobacco cessation.
- Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Back Pain
Discussed in the source
The review found no eligible ACT studies and identifies comparative ACT research as a priority. The CBT recommendation should not be presented as a separate ACT endorsement.
Scope: ACT evidence considered in the chronic low back pain review.
- Management of Headache
Discussed in the source
The recommendation is neutral for the mindfulness-based therapy category; the discussion includes ACT. It does not assign ACT a separate recommendation grade.
Scope: Mindfulness-based interventions for headache treatment or prevention.
- Tinnitus
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD names ACT among the interventions for which evidence is insufficient to recommend for or against treatment. The list is explicitly unranked.
Scope: Adults with bothersome tinnitus receiving ACT from a trained provider.
- Management of Adult Overweight and Obesity
Discussed in the source
ACT studies inform the weak recommendation for the cognitive behavioral intervention category. ACT receives no separate grade here; this is not an eating-disorder treatment recommendation.
Scope: Internalized weight bias and stigma in adult overweight/obesity care.
- Primary Care Management of Chronic Kidney Disease
Discussed in the source
The appendix names ACT among behavioral pain-management options, selected by availability and preference. This is ungraded guidance; much supporting evidence comes from people without kidney disease.
Scope: Adults with chronic kidney disease and chronic pain; self-management insufficient.
- Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Discussed in the source
The review includes ACT within mindfulness/acceptance interventions. The graded recommendation concerns a stress-reduction programme category, without a separate ACT grade or established long-term benefit.
Scope: Adults with stress related to type 2 diabetes.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Psychological and Other Nonpharmacological Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Adults
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA finds the evidence insufficient for a recommendation in these comparisons. This is not a finding of ineffectiveness.
Scope: Adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain; ACT versus active control or usual care.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
ACT is named in the reviewed third-wave therapy category. WHO recommends that category alongside other structured therapies; it does not give ACT a separate recommendation or separate certainty rating here.
Scope: Adults with moderate-to-severe depression, within the mhGAP non-specialist-care context.
Schema Therapy
Guidelines and official sources (2)
2 clinical guideline checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Psychotherapie bij persoonlijkheidsstoornissen
Recommendation for the stated population
Schema therapy is named among recommended specialist BPD treatments.
Scope: BPD; protocol delivered as described and studied
- Borderline personality disorder: recognition and management (CG78)
Discussed in the source
CG78 recommendations do not name schema therapy; general programme guidance does not create a named endorsement.
Scope: Psychological programmes for people with BPD
Behavioral Activation
Guidelines and official sources (9)
7 clinical guideline checks · 1 evidence registry check · 1 professional reference check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Recommendation for the stated population
Behavioural activation is a named adult depression treatment option.
Scope: Adults with depression
- Behavioral activation for depression
Discussed in the source
The archive lists Strong under 1998 criteria; 2015 re-evaluation is pending.
Scope: Behavioural activation for depression
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests behavioral therapy/behavioral activation among seven unranked psychotherapy options (weak for). Treatment strategy also depends on severity, chronicity, prior response and preference.
Scope: Adults with uncomplicated MDD choosing psychotherapy.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD strongly recommends first-line evidence-based psychotherapy, referring to the list that includes behavioral therapy/behavioral activation. This is a class-level recommendation, with no preferred individual approach.
Scope: Pregnant or breastfeeding adults with mild-to-moderate MDD.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Tobacco Use Treatment
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD reviews behavioral activation and finds insufficient evidence to prefer another counseling approach over standard CBT. This finding is specific to comparative tobacco-cessation treatment.
Scope: Behavioral activation adapted for tobacco cessation, compared with standard CBT.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA finds insufficient evidence for BATD in this PTSD comparison. This does not determine its depression-treatment status.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; Behavioral Activation Treatment for Depression (BATD) versus no intervention or usual care.
- mhGAP: brief structured psychological treatment for depression
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO includes behavioral activation among the structured psychological interventions that should be offered. The recommendation is strong, with moderate-certainty evidence.
Scope: Adults with moderate-to-severe depression, within the mhGAP non-specialist-care context.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO conditionally recommends considering behavioral activation, with low-certainty evidence. The 2023 edition retains the 2015 recommendation because eligible new evidence was insufficient; suitability requires an individual assessment.
Scope: People living with dementia and mild-to-moderate depression.
- mhGAP evidence profile STR1/STR2: PTSD psychological interventions
Discussed in the source
The evidence profile includes behavioral activation for PTSD within individual trauma-focused CBT. STR1 recommends that category conditionally; this is not a separately graded recommendation for behavioral activation for PTSD.
Scope: Adults with PTSD.
ERP
Guidelines and official sources (2)
1 clinical guideline check · 1 evidence registry check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder: treatment (CG31)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE recommends CBT including ERP for OCD.
Scope: Adults with OCD; treatment intensity and combination depend on impairment
- Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder
Discussed in the source
The Society record lists Strong under both 1998 and 2015 criteria. This remains an EST rating, separate from NICE clinical recommendations.
Scope: ERP for OCD
Prolonged Exposure
Guidelines and official sources (7)
6 clinical guideline checks · 1 professional reference check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
PE is one of three specifically named strongly recommended trauma-focused psychotherapies.
Scope: Adults with PTSD
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (NG116)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE explicitly includes PE among trauma-focused CBT interventions.
Scope: Adults with clinically important PTSD symptoms; timing and diagnosis determine the recommendation
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Recommendation for the stated population
APA strongly recommends PE as a first-line adult PTSD treatment compared with no intervention or treatment as usual.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; comparison with no intervention or treatment as usual
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD suggests co-occurring disorders should not preclude these PTSD treatments. This addresses access to treatment, not a separate claim of treating substance use.
Scope: PTSD with co-occurring substance-use disorder or other disorders; therapies named in recommendations 8 and 9.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA finds insufficient evidence to prefer PE over those comparators. Its recommendation versus no treatment or usual care does not establish superiority over active therapy.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; PE versus the other active psychological treatments listed in the table.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Recommendation for the stated population
APA strongly recommends this combination; the table includes PE plus usual care and the COPE protocol.
Scope: Adults with PTSD and co-occurring SUD; PE-based treatment plus usual SUD care versus usual SUD care alone.
- mhGAP evidence profile STR1/STR2: PTSD psychological interventions
Discussed in the source
The WHO evidence review includes PE within individual trauma-focused CBT. The clinical recommendation is for that class, not a separately graded PE recommendation.
Scope: Adults with PTSD
CPT
Guidelines and official sources (5)
4 clinical guideline checks · 1 professional reference check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
CPT is explicitly strongly recommended.
Scope: Adults with PTSD
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Recommendation for the stated population
APA strongly recommends CPT as a first-line adult PTSD treatment compared with no intervention or treatment as usual.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; comparison with no intervention or treatment as usual
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD suggests co-occurring disorders should not preclude these PTSD treatments. This addresses access to treatment, not a separate claim of treating substance use.
Scope: PTSD with co-occurring substance-use disorder or other disorders; therapies named in recommendations 8 and 9.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management and Rehabilitation of Post-Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Discussed in the source
The guideline discusses CPT versus SMART-CPT while directing treatment of co-occurring behavioral disorders to their relevant guidelines. It does not make a new CPT recommendation for mTBI itself.
Scope: Co-occurring PTSD in people with a history of mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury.
- mhGAP evidence profile STR1/STR2: PTSD psychological interventions
Discussed in the source
The evidence profile includes CPT within individual trauma-focused CBT. STR1 recommends that category conditionally; this is not a separately graded recommendation for CPT.
Scope: Adults with PTSD.
MBCT
Guidelines and official sources (14)
13 clinical guideline checks · 1 evidence registry check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE lists group MBCT as a relapse-prevention option, with or without continuing antidepressants according to preference.
Scope: People remitted on antidepressants alone and at higher relapse risk
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Discussed in the source
The archive lists Strong under 1998 criteria and pending 2015 re-evaluation.
Scope: MBCT; depression/relapse prevention evidence
- Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE includes group mindfulness and meditation using a programme such as MBCT among treatment options. This is separate from its relapse-prevention recommendations.
Scope: Adults with a new episode of less severe depression; depression-specific group programme.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds insufficient evidence for or against MBCT for PTSD.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; mind-body interventions.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests mindfulness-based cognitive therapy among seven unranked psychotherapy options (weak for). Treatment strategy also depends on severity, chronicity, prior response and preference.
Scope: Adults with uncomplicated MDD choosing psychotherapy.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD strongly recommends first-line evidence-based psychotherapy, referring to the list that includes mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. This is a class-level recommendation, with no preferred individual approach.
Scope: Pregnant or breastfeeding adults with mild-to-moderate MDD.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests MBCT during continuation treatment to reduce relapse or recurrence (weak for). CBT, IPT and MBCT are not ranked against one another.
Scope: Remitted MDD with high risk of relapse or recurrence.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Chronic Multisymptom Illness
Discussed in the source
The guideline discusses an IBS adaptation of MBCT within a weak recommendation for mindfulness-based therapies. This is not a separate recommendation for standard MBCT across all chronic multisymptom illnesses.
Scope: MBCT adapted for IBS within the chronic multisymptom illness guideline.
- Management of Headache
Discussed in the source
The recommendation is neutral for the mindfulness-based therapy category; the discussion includes MBCT. It does not assign MBCT a separate recommendation grade.
Scope: Mindfulness-based interventions for headache treatment or prevention.
- Tinnitus
Discussed in the source
The guideline is neutral for mindfulness-based therapies. MBCT appears in the evidence discussion, without a separate MBCT recommendation grade.
Scope: Mindfulness-based therapies for adults with bothersome tinnitus.
- Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Discussed in the source
The review includes MBCT within mindfulness/acceptance interventions. The graded recommendation concerns a stress-reduction programme category, without a separate MBCT grade or established long-term benefit.
Scope: Adults with stress related to type 2 diabetes.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Stroke Rehabilitation
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD weakly recommends mindfulness-based therapies and specifically reviews MBSR and MBCT. The recommendation is for the therapy family in this post-stroke population.
Scope: Depression following stroke.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Depression Across Three Age Cohorts
Discussed in the source
APA includes MBCT among broadly comparable models; it cannot recommend a superior monotherapy.
Scope: Adults with depressive disorders, excluding psychotic depression; initial monotherapy selection.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Tobacco Use Treatment
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD weakly recommends against standalone mindfulness for this cessation goal. This is category-level guidance; MBCT is not separately graded, and the statement does not address adjunctive use or other conditions.
Scope: Mindfulness used as a standalone treatment for abstinence from tobacco or nicotine.
CBTp
Guidelines and official sources (5)
5 clinical guideline checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Psychosis and schizophrenia in adults: prevention and management (CG178)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE says to offer CBT to all people within this guideline population.
Scope: Adults with psychosis or schizophrenia, including acute episodes and later care
- Management of First-Episode Psychosis and Schizophrenia
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests CBTp combined with pharmacotherapy (weak for). Preserve the population and combination-treatment scope.
Scope: Adults with prodromal or early psychosis.
- Management of First-Episode Psychosis and Schizophrenia
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests CBTp combined with pharmacotherapy among several psychotherapy options (weak for). It does not establish superiority over every other option.
Scope: Adults with schizophrenia.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO conditionally recommends considering CBT where sufficient specialist support is available, with moderate-certainty evidence. Delivery by non-specialists requires planned specialist supervision.
Scope: Adults with psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, in the acute phase.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO strongly recommends CBT among the listed psychosocial interventions, with moderate-certainty evidence. The option to use those psychosocial interventions alone or together does not establish that medication should be stopped.
Scope: Adults with psychosis, including schizophrenia, during maintenance treatment.
TF-CBT
Guidelines and official sources (4)
2 clinical guideline checks · 2 professional reference checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (NG116)
Discussed in the source
NICE offers individual trauma-focused CBT to ages 7–17 after 3 months and considers it for other specified child groups. The umbrella wording does not independently name every branded protocol.
Scope: Ages 5–17 with PTSD or clinically important symptoms; age and time since trauma matter
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Discussed in the source
APA recommends the trauma-focused CBT family for adults. Footnote 4 explicitly defines a broad grouping, not a specific therapy; this does not establish a child Cohen TF-CBT recommendation.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; comparison with no intervention or treatment as usual
- Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy: NCTSN resource listing
Discussed in the source
SAMHSA lists the NCTSN TF-CBT resource. A resource listing is not a graded CPG recommendation.
Scope: TF-CBT information for children/adolescents and caregivers
- mhGAP evidence profile STR1/STR2: PTSD psychological interventions
Discussed in the source
The review includes trauma-focused CBT for children and caregivers in a broader trauma-focused CBT category. WHO explicitly distinguishes that broad label from the specific Cohen protocol; STR2 does not separately grade the named protocol.
Scope: Children and adolescents with PTSD.
REBT
Guidelines and official sources (2)
2 clinical guideline checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Discussed in the source
NICE lists CBT with specified delivery characteristics. This category-level recommendation does not separately identify REBT.
Scope: CBT options for adults with depression.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Depression Across Three Age Cohorts
Discussed in the source
The guideline discusses these therapy categories and cites a REBT trial. This does not establish a separate REBT recommendation for every condition associated with the approach.
Scope: Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral therapies for adults with depression.
CBT-I
Guidelines and official sources (5)
5 clinical guideline checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults
Recommendation for the stated population
AASM strongly recommends multicomponent CBT-I. Its 2021 review did not directly compare psychotherapy with medication.
Scope: Adults with chronic insomnia disorder, with or without comorbidities
- Combination treatment for chronic insomnia disorder in adults
Recommendation for the stated population
AASM conditionally favors CBT-I plus medication over medication alone, and CBT-I alone over the combination; both use low-certainty evidence and allow preference-based exceptions.
Scope: Adults with chronic insomnia; concurrent initiation of medication and CBT-I
- Management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults
Recommendation for the stated population
ACP recommends CBT-I initially; after an unsuccessful course, it suggests shared decisions about adding short-term medication.
Scope: Adults with chronic insomnia disorder
- Daridorexant for treating long-term insomnia (TA922)
Discussed in the source
NICE describes CBT-I as the standard first treatment; daridorexant eligibility requires CBT-I to have failed, be unavailable or be unsuitable. This is a drug technology appraisal, so identify that context.
Scope: Adults with long-term insomnia being considered for daridorexant
- Management of Chronic Insomnia Disorder and Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD strongly recommends CBT-I and weakly favors CBT-I over medication initially. These recommendations address insomnia, not treatment of its comorbid diagnoses.
Scope: Adults with chronic insomnia disorder; initial treatment selection.
iCBT
Guidelines and official sources (14)
14 clinical guideline checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults (CG113)
Discussed in the source
CBT-based written or electronic self-help is specified, with trained-practitioner support for guided programmes. This supports a delivery category, not every app.
Scope: Adults with GAD offered step 2 self-help
- Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Discussed in the source
NICE includes supported printed or digital structured self-help, including CBT. The programme and support requirements matter.
Scope: Adults with depression choosing guided self-help
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds insufficient evidence for or against facilitated internet-based CBT for PTSD. Validated video-delivered therapies have a different recommendation.
Scope: Facilitated internet-based CBT for adults with PTSD.
- Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD weakly supports this digital-intervention category for short-term ideation, but finds insufficient evidence for reducing attempts or suicide. This does not endorse every CBT app.
Scope: Adults aged 18 and over at risk of suicide; self-guided digital interventions containing CBT-based content; short-term suicidal-ideation outcomes.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests clinician-guided computer/internet CBT as first-line treatment or alongside medication, according to preference (weak for). This does not endorse every app or unguided programme.
Scope: Adults with mild-to-moderate MDD; clinician-guided delivery.
- Management of Bipolar Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD finds insufficient evidence for any particular app or computer/web intervention. This broader technology finding is not a specific assessment of every iCBT programme.
Scope: Adults with bipolar disorder; digital interventions.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Substance Use Disorders
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds insufficient evidence for or against these treatments. Its review includes CBT4CBT and distinguishes computerized treatment from live therapist telemedicine and text-message support.
Scope: Computer-delivered CBT and other behavioral treatments for substance-use disorders, alone or alongside usual care.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Chronic Multisymptom Illness
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD discusses internet delivery under its broader CBT recommendation. It does not separately grade internet CBT or establish that all delivery formats are equivalent for every patient.
Scope: Internet-delivered CBT studied in ME/CFS within the chronic multisymptom illness guideline.
- Tinnitus
Discussed in the source
The CBT discussion includes internet delivery with provider involvement. It finds insufficient evidence for completely self-administered CBT without therapist contact; this is not an endorsement of every app.
Scope: Internet-delivered CBT with provider involvement for adults with bothersome tinnitus.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Stroke Rehabilitation
Discussed in the source
The guideline discusses computerized CBT under its broader weak recommendation for psychotherapy after stroke. It does not separately establish a preferred digital program or equivalence of all delivery formats.
Scope: Computerized CBT studied for depression following stroke.
- mhGAP: delivery format of brief structured psychological interventions
Discussed in the source
WHO conditionally recommends considering digital and other CBT delivery formats according to resources and preferences, with low-certainty evidence. This does not separately grade every internet program or establish equal suitability for every person.
Scope: Adults receiving brief CBT-based interventions for GAD/panic
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
The review includes internet CBT. WHO notes that guided internet CBT was more effective than unguided delivery for this population; its clinical recommendation is for structured psychological interventions, rather than every digital program.
Scope: Adults with moderate-to-severe depression, within the mhGAP non-specialist-care context.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
Digital or remote trauma-focused CBT is included in the conditional recommendation, based on low-certainty evidence. This is a format-and-treatment-class recommendation, not an endorsement of every internet CBT program.
Scope: Adults with PTSD.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
WHO conditionally supports digital interventions based on approaches including CBT, with low-certainty evidence. This is not a recommendation for every full CBT program, and the reviewed trials did not establish benefit for attempts or deaths and were underpowered for those outcomes.
Scope: Digital support for people with suicidal thoughts.
CBT-E
Guidelines and official sources (1)
1 clinical guideline check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Eating disorders: recognition and treatment (NG69)
Discussed in the source
NICE names the CBT-ED category, not CBT-E exclusively. Format and prior guided self-help matter; the recommendation should retain these distinctions.
Scope: CBT-ED for binge-eating disorder and bulimia, at specified treatment steps.
Contingency Management
Guidelines and official sources (8)
6 clinical guideline checks · 1 research recommendations check · 1 regulatory source check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- CG115 recommendations for research
Research recommendation
NICE identifies an alcohol research question and asks for a trial. This is not a clinical recommendation to offer CM, nor a prohibition on use outside research.
Scope: Research into contingency management for alcohol-related problems.
- Drug misuse in over 16s: psychosocial interventions (CG51)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE recommends introducing CM programs for these drug-treatment populations. This does not turn the separate alcohol research question into a clinical recommendation.
Scope: Over 16s receiving methadone maintenance or primarily misusing stimulants.
- Using SAMHSA Funds to Implement Evidence-Based Contingency Management Services
Discussed in the source
The January 2025 advisory documents funding and implementation conditions. It is a funding policy, not confirmation of the record’s 2023 date or a universal treatment mandate.
Scope: Authorized SAMHSA grants that include approved contingency-management activities.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Substance Use Disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD recommends CM combined with another behavioral intervention for cocaine-use disorder and suggests that combination for amphetamine/methamphetamine-use disorder. The respective strengths are strong and weak.
Scope: Initial treatment of cocaine- or amphetamine/methamphetamine-use disorder.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Tobacco Use Treatment
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD weakly recommends CM or incentives in combination with behavioral counseling and pharmacotherapy. The recommendation is for this combined treatment package.
Scope: Adult tobacco or nicotine use treatment.
- Psychosocial support for psychostimulant use disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO strongly recommends contingency management, with low-certainty evidence. This finding is specific to cocaine and stimulant dependence, rather than all substance use conditions.
Scope: Adults with cocaine or stimulant dependence.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
Contingency management is discussed within the reviewed psychosocial interventions. WHO conditionally recommends structured psychosocial treatment as a group, with low-certainty evidence, while noting uncertainty about individual therapy types versus usual care.
Scope: Adults with alcohol dependence.
- The ASAM/AAAP Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Stimulant Use Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
Strong recommendation with high certainty for contingency management as a primary component of treatment; scope is stimulant use disorder.
Scope: Stimulant use disorder; contingency management alongside other psychosocial interventions.
ABA
Guidelines and official sources (3)
2 clinical guideline checks · 1 professional reference check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents: Executive Summary
Recommendation for the stated population
The Singapore guideline says EIBI may be considered with trained delivery and goals agreed for the child and family. This does not endorse every ABA practice or age group.
Scope: EIBI for adaptive skills and cognitive ability in autistic children.
- 2021 surveillance: autism guidelines, Appendix A
Discussed in the source
The surveillance review did not find sufficient grounds to add specific ABA recommendations. This is an evidence-review decision, not a recommendation against every behavioral intervention.
Scope: NICE’s 2021 surveillance of autism guidelines.
- Autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents: Main Guideline Document
Recommendation for the stated population
The guideline says EIBI may be considered with trained delivery and child/family goals; this is not an endorsement of all ABA practices.
Scope: EIBI for adaptive skills and cognitive development in autistic children.
Metacognitive Therapy
Guidelines and official sources (4)
4 clinical guideline checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD discusses a metacognitive-therapy trial within CBT-package comparisons, without issuing a separate recommendation for Wells’s protocol or establishing its superiority.
Scope: Adults with MDD; Wells metacognitive therapy compared with CBT.
- Management of First-Episode Psychosis and Schizophrenia
Discussed in the source
The guideline’s metacognitive intervention uses cognitive-bias training and discusses MERIT. Its weak-for recommendation should not be attributed to Adrian Wells’s metacognitive therapy.
Scope: Schizophrenia-focused metacognitive training; a different intervention from Wells’s therapy.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA finds insufficient evidence to recommend for or against metacognitive therapy in this comparison.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; metacognitive therapy versus no intervention or usual care.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
Metacognitive therapy is named in the reviewed third-wave therapy category. WHO recommends that category alongside other structured therapies; it does not give metacognitive therapy a separate recommendation or separate certainty rating here.
Scope: Adults with moderate-to-severe depression, within the mhGAP non-specialist-care context.
IBCT
Guidelines and official sources (2)
1 clinical guideline check · 1 professional reference check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- VA Puget Sound, Seattle Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship Program: Couple Therapy Services
Discussed in the source
VA describes IBCT training and clinical use. Service adoption does not establish a clinical guideline recommendation or verify nationwide dissemination.
Scope: Couple-therapy training and services at VA Puget Sound.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD suggests couples-focused therapy as a category (weak for), without preferring a model. Assess partner involvement and safety; this is not a separate endorsement of this named protocol.
Scope: Adults with mild-to-moderate MDD and significant relationship distress.
Problem-Solving Therapy
Guidelines and official sources (10)
9 clinical guideline checks · 1 evidence registry check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE includes problem-solving among treatment options. The format and choice depend on depression severity, clinical needs and patient preferences.
Scope: Adults with depression; guided self-help or individual problem-solving options.
- Problem-Solving Therapy for Depression
Discussed in the source
The archive records a 1998 strong rating and a 2015 status awaiting re-evaluation. These are evidence-registry classifications, separate from NICE’s recommendations.
Scope: Depression; historical Division 12 treatment ratings.
- Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD includes problem-solving-based psychotherapies within its weak recommendation for suicide-focused CBT to reduce suicidal ideation. This recommendation concerns ideation and does not establish fewer suicide attempts or deaths for generic PST.
Scope: Suicide-focused, problem-solving-based CBT for adults aged 18 and over with a history of self-directed violence.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests problem-solving therapy among seven unranked psychotherapy options (weak for). Treatment strategy also depends on severity, chronicity, prior response and preference.
Scope: Adults with uncomplicated MDD choosing psychotherapy.
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD strongly recommends first-line evidence-based psychotherapy, referring to the list that includes problem-solving therapy. This is a class-level recommendation, with no preferred individual approach.
Scope: Pregnant or breastfeeding adults with mild-to-moderate MDD.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Stroke Rehabilitation
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds insufficient evidence for or against solution-focused psychological interventions, explicitly including problem-solving therapy. The finding is specific to post-stroke depression prevention.
Scope: Preventing the onset of depression following stroke.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Depression Across Three Age Cohorts
Recommendation for the stated population
APA conditionally suggests the specified individual problem-solving treatments for these populations.
Scope: Older adults with MDD and executive dysfunction, or minor/MDD depression with dementia.
- mhGAP: brief structured psychological treatment for depression
Recommendation for the stated population
WHO includes problem-solving therapy among the structured psychological interventions that should be offered. The recommendation is strong, with moderate-certainty evidence.
Scope: Adults with moderate-to-severe depression, within the mhGAP non-specialist-care context.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
WHO conditionally supports digital interventions based on approaches including problem-solving therapy, with low-certainty evidence. This is not a recommendation for every full problem-solving therapy program, and the reviewed trials did not establish benefit for attempts or deaths and were underpowered for those outcomes.
Scope: Digital support for people with suicidal thoughts.
- Self-harm: assessment, management and preventing recurrence (NG225)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE says to offer a tailored intervention and explicitly names CBT and problem-solving therapy. This does not endorse every generic protocol or establish a reduction in suicide deaths.
Scope: Adults who have self-harmed; a structured, person-centred CBT-informed intervention tailored to their needs.
Written Exposure Therapy
Guidelines and official sources (5)
4 clinical guideline checks · 1 professional reference check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests WET with a weak recommendation. The recommendation does not independently validate numerical outcome claims.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; individual, manualized Written Exposure Therapy.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD suggests co-occurring disorders should not preclude these PTSD treatments. This addresses access to treatment, not a separate claim of treating substance use.
Scope: PTSD with co-occurring substance-use disorder or other disorders; therapies named in recommendations 8 and 9.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA finds insufficient evidence for this efficacy comparison. Its separate comparisons with active treatments reach a different evidentiary finding.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; WET versus waitlist or usual care.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Discussed in the source
APA reports no difference in effect and makes no recommendation between these treatments. This is distinct from the insufficient-evidence finding versus waitlist or usual care.
Scope: Adults with PTSD; WET versus CPT, CPT with account, or PE.
- mhGAP evidence profile STR1/STR2: PTSD psychological interventions
Discussed in the source
The evidence profile includes written exposure therapy within individual trauma-focused CBT. STR1 recommends that category conditionally; this is not a separately graded recommendation for written exposure therapy.
Scope: Adults with PTSD.
Behavioral Couples Therapy
Guidelines and official sources (5)
4 clinical guideline checks · 1 evidence registry check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Task Force report: examples of empirically validated treatments
Discussed in the source
The original task-force list calls behavioural marital therapy well-established. This is a historical evidence classification, not a current CPG grade.
Scope: Behavioural marital therapy for marital discord
- Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE says to consider behavioural couples therapy for this depression and relationship context.
Scope: Adults with depression and partner-relationship problems contributing to depression or whose partner may help treatment
- Alcohol-use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management (CG115)
Discussed in the source
NICE recommends alcohol-focused behavioural couples therapy in this specified context, with explicit domestic-abuse exclusions. This alcohol-treatment adaptation is not a separate endorsement of every traditional couples-therapy protocol.
Scope: Harmful drinking or mild alcohol dependence; willing regular partner; excludes indicators of currently experiencing or perpetrating domestic abuse
- Management of Major Depressive Disorder
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD suggests couples-focused therapy as a category (weak for), without preferring a model. Assess partner involvement and safety; this is not a separate endorsement of this named protocol.
Scope: Adults with mild-to-moderate MDD and significant relationship distress.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Substance Use Disorders
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD weakly recommends the alcohol-focused adaptation, which includes sobriety support and relationship work. This source does not separately endorse IBCT or all applications of couples therapy.
Scope: Behavioral couples therapy adapted for adults with alcohol-use disorder and a participating partner.
Community Reinforcement Approach
Guidelines and official sources (4)
2 clinical guideline checks · 2 professional reference checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide, Third Edition
Discussed in the source
NIDA describes a combined CRA-plus-vouchers intervention in its research-based guide. This is not a graded recommendation for every CRA use.
Scope: CRA plus vouchers for substance-use treatment.
- TIP 34: Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse, Chapter 4
Discussed in the source
SAMHSA discusses CRA in a treatment-improvement protocol. This source does not establish the separately claimed historical registry listing.
Scope: Behavioral treatment of alcohol and other substance-use problems.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Substance Use Disorders
Recommendation for the stated population
VA/DoD suggests CRA for alcohol-use disorder and includes it among strongly recommended recovery-focused options for cocaine-use disorder. The combination requirement in recommendation 26 applies to the separate CM option.
Scope: Adults with alcohol-use disorder or initial cocaine-use-disorder treatment.
- Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guideline for mental, neurological and substance use disorders
Discussed in the source
The review includes community reinforcement within the cognitive-behavioral approach category. DRU3 recommends CBT and contingency management; it does not separately grade CRA.
Scope: Adults with cocaine or stimulant dependence.
Acceptance-Based Behavior Therapy
Guidelines and official sources (2)
1 clinical guideline check · 1 evidence registry check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Discussed in the source
The archive discusses acceptance-based approaches as promising. It does not establish a clinical guideline recommendation for the named ABBT protocol.
Scope: Generalized anxiety disorder; historical Division 12 evidence archive.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Chronic Multisymptom Illness
Discussed in the source
VA/DoD discusses acceptance-based CBT and describes ABBT in its intervention appendix. It does not issue a separate graded recommendation for the named ABBT protocol.
Scope: Acceptance-based approaches described within the chronic multisymptom illness guideline.
Seeking Safety
Guidelines and official sources (3)
3 clinical guideline checks
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds the evidence insufficient for a recommendation for or against this treatment.
Scope: Seeking Safety for adult PTSD treatment.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Discussed in the source
APA reports no difference in effect on PTSD symptoms or substance use and makes no recommendation for or against these comparisons.
Scope: Adults with PTSD and co-occurring SUD; Seeking Safety, with or without usual care, compared with usual SUD care.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA finds insufficient evidence to prefer either side of these active-treatment comparisons.
Scope: Adults with PTSD and co-occurring SUD; Seeking Safety compared with COPE or Creating Change in the reviewed care arrangements.
STAIR
Guidelines and official sources (1)
1 clinical guideline check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds the evidence insufficient for a recommendation for or against STAIR. This is not a positive recommendation for complex PTSD.
Scope: STAIR for adult PTSD treatment.
Imagery Rehearsal Therapy
Guidelines and official sources (3)
2 clinical guideline checks · 1 professional reference check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of PTSD and Acute Stress Disorder
Insufficient evidence for or against
VA/DoD finds insufficient evidence for or against IRT for nightmares associated with PTSD.
Scope: Nightmares associated with PTSD
- Position paper for the treatment of nightmare disorder in adults
Recommendation for the stated population
AASM recommends IRT for these nightmare presentations. It calls this a position paper, not a graded CPG.
Scope: Adults with nightmare disorder or PTSD-associated nightmares
- Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults
Insufficient evidence for or against
APA finds insufficient evidence for or against IRT for adult PTSD relative to no intervention or treatment as usual. This is a different scope from AASM’s nightmare-specific position.
Scope: IRT for adults with PTSD compared with no intervention or treatment as usual
PCIT
Guidelines and official sources (1)
1 clinical guideline check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Antisocial behaviour and conduct disorders in children and young people (CG158)
Discussed in the source
The recommendations specify parent training and its delivery; they do not name PCIT. A mention elsewhere in an evidence review would not by itself be an endorsement.
Scope: Parents of children aged 3–11 with specified conduct-problem risks or diagnoses
MST
Guidelines and official sources (2)
1 clinical guideline check · 1 professional reference check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Antisocial behaviour and conduct disorders in children and young people (CG158)
Recommendation for the stated population
NICE explicitly names MST as an example of multimodal intervention to offer.
Scope: Ages 11–17 with conduct disorder
- Screening and treatment of substance use disorders among adolescents
Discussed in the source
SAMHSA describes MST in a treatment advisory; this is not a generic all-childhood-disorders CPG grade.
Scope: Adolescents with severe SUD and delinquent or violent behaviour
Triple P
Guidelines and official sources (1)
1 clinical guideline check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Antisocial behaviour and conduct disorders in children and young people (CG158)
Discussed in the source
NICE recommends qualifying parent-training programs. Its recommendation text does not name Triple P; referencing a program in an evidence review is a different claim.
Scope: Parents of children aged 3–11 with or at high risk of oppositional defiant or conduct disorder.
CBASP
Guidelines and official sources (2)
1 clinical guideline check · 1 professional reference check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Depression in adults: treatment and management, short version DRAFT
Discussed in the source
The draft named CBASP. Consultation material is not final guidance, and the final NG222 recommendations do not name CBASP.
Scope: Chronic depression and inadequate response in NICE’s July 2017 consultation draft.
- Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Discussed in the source
CBASP is not named in the final recommendation text inspected here. This does not establish its absence from all guideline evidence reviews or other organizations’ documents.
Scope: Final adult-depression recommendations in NG222.
This is the largest, most researched, and most publicly visible lineage in psychotherapy. It begins with the radical claim that psychology should study observable behavior, not the unconscious — a direct rejection of psychoanalysis. Pavlov's conditioning, Watson's behaviorism, and Skinner's operant learning produced the first wave. Beck and Ellis, both disillusioned psychoanalysts, launched the cognitive revolution in the 1960s. Linehan, Hayes, Segal, and others created the third wave by reintroducing acceptance, mindfulness, and emotion — elements the first two waves had excluded. Today, cognitive-behavioral approaches account for more randomized controlled trials than all other traditions combined.
Full Contents
Read all 16 entries as a single page
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Ivan Pavlov
Discovered classical conditioning: a neutral stimulus, paired with an unconditioned stimulus, acquires the power to elicit a conditioned response. Not a psychologist but a physiologist — his dog experiments became the foundation of learning theory.
Concepts: Classical conditioning · Conditioned stimulus/response · Extinction · Generalization · Spontaneous recovery
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John B. Watson
Founded behaviorism: psychology should study only observable behavior, not mental states. The "Little Albert" experiment demonstrated that fear could be conditioned. Rejected introspection and the unconscious entirely.
Concepts: Methodological behaviorism · Environmental determinism · Stimulus-response psychology · Rejection of mentalism
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B. F. Skinner
Developed operant conditioning: behavior is shaped by its consequences (reinforcement and punishment). Radical behaviorism — all behavior, including "private events" like thoughts and feelings, follows the same laws of learning.
Concepts: Operant conditioning · Reinforcement (positive/negative) · Punishment · Shaping · Schedules of reinforcement · Functional analysis
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Albert Ellis
Created Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT, 1955) — the first cognitive therapy. Trained as a psychoanalyst, became frustrated with its passivity. The ABC model: Activating events don't cause emotional Consequences — irrational Beliefs do.
Concepts: ABC model · Irrational beliefs · Musturbation ("I must...") · Disputation · Unconditional self-acceptance · Low frustration tolerance
Relation: Beat Beck to the cognitive revolution by nearly a decade. More confrontational and philosophical than Beck — drew on Stoic philosophy (Epictetus: "It is not things that disturb us, but our judgments about things"). Less researched because less manualized.
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Joseph Wolpe
Created systematic desensitization — the first evidence-based psychotherapy technique. If anxiety is a conditioned response, it can be counterconditioned through graduated exposure paired with relaxation (reciprocal inhibition).
Concepts: Systematic desensitization · Reciprocal inhibition · Anxiety hierarchy · Fear conditioning/counterconditioning
Relation: Applied Pavlov's principles directly to clinical anxiety. Demonstrated that psychotherapy could be studied with the same rigor as medicine.
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Aaron Beck
Created Cognitive Therapy (later CBT) — the most researched psychotherapy in history. Also a disillusioned psychoanalyst. Discovered that depressed patients have automatic negative thoughts organized into cognitive distortions and core beliefs.
Concepts: Automatic thoughts · Cognitive distortions · Core beliefs / schemas · Cognitive triad (self, world, future) · Collaborative empiricism · Socratic questioning · Behavioral experiments
Relation: Beck's genius was manualization and empirical testing. He made cognitive therapy researchable — and then researched it relentlessly. CBT became the gold standard because Beck built the infrastructure for testing it.
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Marsha Linehan / DBT
Created Dialectical Behavior Therapy for borderline personality — originally suicidal women. The dialectic: acceptance AND change simultaneously. Integrated Zen mindfulness and validation with behavioral skill-building. The first evidence-based treatment for BPD.
Concepts: Dialectics · Biosocial theory · Distress tolerance · Emotion regulation · Interpersonal effectiveness · Mindfulness · Radical acceptance · Validation
Relation: Linehan's innovation was recognizing that standard CBT's emphasis on change felt invalidating to people with BPD. Adding acceptance, validation, and dialectical philosophy transformed the approach. Opened the door for the entire third wave.
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Steven Hayes / ACT
Created Acceptance and Commitment Therapy — a radical rethinking of CBT. The problem is not the content of thoughts but psychological inflexibility: fusion with thoughts, experiential avoidance, and loss of contact with values. "It's not about feeling better — it's about getting better at feeling."
Concepts: Psychological flexibility · Acceptance · Cognitive defusion · Present moment · Self-as-context · Values · Committed action · Relational Frame Theory
Relation: Hayes argued that CBT's emphasis on changing thought content was paradoxically maintaining the problem — struggling with thoughts gives them more power. ACT shifts from content to function, from control to willingness.
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Jeffrey Young / Schema Therapy
Integrates CBT with psychodynamic and experiential approaches for personality disorders. Identifies 18 early maladaptive schemas from childhood that perpetuate suffering. Uses limited reparenting, imagery rescripting, and mode work.
Concepts: 18 early maladaptive schemas · Schema modes · Limited reparenting · Imagery rescripting · Healthy Adult mode · Schema perpetuation
Relation: Young was Beck's student who found standard CBT insufficient for personality disorders. Schema therapy is where CBT meets object relations — acknowledging that some problems require developmental and relational work, not just cognitive restructuring.
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Paul Gilbert / CFT
Compassion-Focused Therapy — designed for people with high shame and self-criticism who struggle with standard CBT. Integrates evolutionary psychology, attachment theory, and Buddhist compassion practices with cognitive-behavioral methods.
Concepts: Three emotion regulation systems (threat, drive, soothing) · Compassionate mind training · Self-criticism vs. self-compassion · Evolved brain / tricky brain
Relation: Gilbert found that some patients could generate rational alternatives in CBT but couldn't feel them — the emotional tone was still self-attacking. CFT addresses the affective system that CBT's cognitive techniques miss.
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Adrian Wells / MCT
Metacognitive Therapy — the problem is not what you think but how you think about thinking. The Cognitive Attentional Syndrome (CAS): worry, rumination, threat monitoring, and unhelpful coping strategies, all driven by metacognitive beliefs.
Concepts: Metacognition · Cognitive Attentional Syndrome (CAS) · Metacognitive beliefs · Attention Training Technique · Detached mindfulness
Relation: Wells was Beck's student who argued that Beck got the level of analysis wrong. It's not the content of automatic thoughts that matters but the metacognitive processes (worry, rumination) that maintain them. A CBT critique from within CBT.
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Behavioral Activation
Depression is maintained by withdrawal and avoidance, which reduce contact with positive reinforcement. Treatment focuses on scheduling activities aligned with values and breaking avoidance patterns — not on changing thoughts.
Concepts: Activity scheduling · Avoidance patterns · Positive reinforcement · Values-based activation · Outside-in change
Relation: Jacobson's dismantling study showed the behavioral component of CBT worked as well as the full package — questioning whether cognitive restructuring was necessary. A pure behavioral approach to depression that challenges cognitive primacy.
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Behavioral Parent Training & Systems
Applied behavioral principles to family systems: PCIT (parent-child interaction), Triple P (positive parenting), MST (multisystemic therapy for conduct disorder). Focus on changing reinforcement contingencies in the family environment.
Concepts: Contingency management in families · Positive reinforcement of prosocial behavior · Parent management training · Ecological intervention
Relation: Extended Skinner's operant principles to the social ecology of the family. MST in particular integrates behavioral, cognitive, family, and community-level intervention — one of the most comprehensive applications.
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Exposure Therapies
The most powerful mechanism in all of CBT: confronting feared stimuli under conditions that allow new learning. ERP for OCD, Prolonged Exposure for PTSD, CPT for trauma cognitions. Emotional processing theory: fear structures must be activated and then modified by corrective information.
Concepts: Emotional processing theory · Habituation · Inhibitory learning · Fear structure · In vivo / imaginal / interoceptive exposure
Relation: Builds on Pavlov (extinction), Wolpe (systematic desensitization), and Foa's emotional processing theory. The evidence base for exposure is among the strongest in all of psychotherapy.
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Specialized Applications
The CBT framework has been adapted for virtually every clinical population and setting: CBT-I for insomnia, CBT-E for eating disorders, CBTp for psychosis, iCBT for digital delivery, TF-CBT for child trauma, CPT for PTSD, RO-DBT for overcontrol, CBASP for chronic depression, and many more.
Concepts: Protocol adaptation · Disorder-specific models · Manualized treatment · Transdiagnostic approaches
Relation: The strength and limitation of the CBT tradition: it produces specific, testable protocols for specific problems. The question is whether this specificity captures or fragments the complexity of human suffering.
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MBCT
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy — designed to prevent depressive relapse. Integrates Kabat-Zinn's mindfulness training with cognitive therapy. Patients learn to notice depressive thinking patterns without engaging them.
Concepts: Decentering · Metacognitive awareness · Mindfulness meditation · Automatic pilot · Relapse prevention · Being mode vs. doing mode
Relation: Segal, Williams, and Teasdale set out to create a maintenance version of CBT and discovered that mindfulness was the active ingredient — not cognitive restructuring. A CBT team that arrived at something that looked more Buddhist than Beckian.