The presence and future of CBT in post-communist countries - British optimism vs. Czech realism
Možný P., Salkovskis P.
This article is a result of the discussion between prof. Paul Salkovskis and Petr Mozny at the EABCT Congress in Prague 2003. According to prof. Salkovskis accumulating evidence leads to two key conclusions. Firstly, cognitive and behavioural therapies (C&BTs) have now emerged as the single most effective psychological treatment approach and secondly, cognitive behavioural theories now constitute the best supported theoretical framework for the understanding of the psychopathology of a wide range of psychological problems. The availability of CBT is limited by the adoption of models of training and treatment delivery originally developed in more traditional "under-researched" and ineffective psychotherapies. P. Mozny stresses in his reaction the potential risks linked to the efforts to promote CBT as the most effective psychotherapy and its model of training as the best of all other approaches in Czech Republic, as well as in other post-communist countries. CBT has no long tradition here and influential positions in the field of psychotherapy are held by adherents of other psychotherapeutic approaches. This effort will create an atmosphere of hostility towards CBT and in the end can weaken it's influence and availability. Mutual respect, dialogue and enrichement from other psychotherapeutic approaches will do a better service to the development of CBT and CBT training programmes in these countries.