This article discards the boring, plausible thesis in the first paragraph. The rest of the article is given over to speculation.
CBT requires a lot more work from both the patient and the therapist. I can easily believe that as it's become more popular, it's being applied less well or to populations where it's less appropriate.
Anecdotally, in my experience, there are enormous differences between therapists. I have had very ineffective treatment which did seem a lot like "just get happy, stop thinking bad thoughts". And I've had effective treatment where a perceptive person cut straight through to reveal my self-defeating patterns and gave me skills to do better. It's a constant battle but I'm glad I did it this way.
CBT isn't for everyone or every problem. But I would be surprised if the main insights were totally wrong.
CBT requires a lot more work from both the patient and the therapist. I can easily believe that as it's become more popular, it's being applied less well or to populations where it's less appropriate.
Anecdotally, in my experience, there are enormous differences between therapists. I have had very ineffective treatment which did seem a lot like "just get happy, stop thinking bad thoughts". And I've had effective treatment where a perceptive person cut straight through to reveal my self-defeating patterns and gave me skills to do better. It's a constant battle but I'm glad I did it this way.
CBT isn't for everyone or every problem. But I would be surprised if the main insights were totally wrong.