The Origins of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the origins of cognitive therapy, focusing in particular on: (i) Aaron Beck as the founder of cognitive therapy; (ii) Steve Hayes’ proposal that cognitive and behavioural psychotherapies could be conceptualised as three distinct and consecutive waves; (iii) the three waves of psychotherapy as the behavioural interventions developed in the 1950s and 1960s, the focus on cognition and thinking through the development of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and the current wave of therapies which incorporate mindfulness and acceptance to address its limitations.

About the lecturer

Dr Helen Bolderston is a senior lecturer in psychology in the Department of Psychology at Bournemouth University. Dr Bolderston’s research interests lie in acceptance-based psychotherapies, processes implicated in the development and maintenance of mental health problems, and psychological wellbeing and burnout in health and social care students and professionals. Some of Dr Bolderston’s recent publications include 'Cognitive fusion as a candidate psychological vulnerability factor for psychosis: An experimental study of acute 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) intoxication' (2021) and 'Resilience and surgeons: train the individual or change the system?' (2020).