To the uninitiated, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) may seem less established than psychoanalysis, for example. In fact, its roots extend far back beyond Freud or Jung. Classical Stoic philosophy stemming from Epictetus (Discourses and Enchiridion) and Marcus Aurelius (Meditations) formed the backbone of what would inspire Behavioural Therapy and Aaron Beck's Cognitive Therapy. 

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Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius both agreed that human beings were not passive receptacles that responded to their environments as machines would respond to instructions, but rather they could choose how to respond to stimuli; to adapt instead of merely reacting. The same would be true of our thinking. As Epictetus so eloquently put it: "No man is free who is not the master of himself."

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Behaviourists of the 20th century focused on the tangible and observable, as did their psychotherapeutic methods. Perhaps most notable of which was Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) by Albert R. Ellis. Such behaviourist methods include desensitising clients to phobias by facing their fears in the real world. Behavioural experiments and applying the scientific method to one's own personal life was what made behavioural therapies distinct from alternatives like psychoanalysis. Aaron Beck's Cognitive Therapy was developed to identify problematic or dysfunctional thinking patterns that inhibited clients' quality of life. These two distinct approaches were both shown to be affective, and so they were combined into CBT, now widely deemed to the gold standard in Psychotherapy.

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CBT is widely seen as the premier treatment of anxiety and depression. At the Clear Thinking Clinic, it is offered by each of our practitioners. 

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Click the images below to learn more.

Clockwise starting from the left side: Marcus Aurelius, Aaron Beck, Albert R. Ellis, Epictetus