A Postmodern Critique of Cognitive Therapy

Postmodernism (or Constructivism or Contextualism) is/are a contemporary (maybe even trendy) intellectual movement(s) which asserts that there is no reality independent of the observer and that the experience we refer to as reality is a socially-negotiated construction which is shaped by our assumptions. All human endeavors, including the practice of psychotherapy, are seen as being inextricably embedded in our assumptions and our social context.

Some proponents of this view have been quite critical of Cognitive Therapy because they see it as embodying a Modernist view which emphasizes rationality and objectivity and ignores the sociocultural context. Others have argued that in emphasizing a rational/logical focus, CT encourages conformity to a stereotypically masculine thinking style or a Eurocentric thinking style. Proponents of CT have argued that the post-modernist critiques of CT are based on misunderstandings of CT.

For a good sampling of this debate (and references to the rest of it) see the Summer 1997 edition of the Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy which includes a series of six articles debating this issue.

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