Prolegomenon

Isaac Marks wanted to create a corps of Barefoot Therapists - not doctors, not psychologists, but nurses trained in behavioural psychotherapy. I am (among many others) the fruit of that project. I was trained by Annie Telford, to whom I will always be grateful.

Over the last twenty-three years since I qualified I have gradually simplified and purified my conception of what Cognitive Behaviour Therapy consists of, what its principles are, how it works and so on. I will be be progressively mapping out the results of that period of contemplation.

I will define CBT, and describe what I'm minded to call the "neo-classical" approach. This doesn't mean that my style of CBT has a Palladian architecture, it means it has a Pavlovian architecture -  its central point is classical conditioning. That is filtered through OH Mowrer's misnamed "two factor theory" (more properly, I'd argue, called "mediation theory"). It then spreads out into cognitive therapy, Perceptual Control Theory, mindfulness, exposure treatment, behavioural activation, experiential tolerance, cognitive dissonance, hypervigilance and much more.

I will also comment on current political issues within the world of CBT, including the BABCP and the NHS. I will post on subjects such as accreditation, or training, supervision, and so on.

These are the random and unstructured thoughts of a butterfly mind. Enjoy. Argue. Contribute.