Dr. Tom Ferraro uses cognitive-behavioral therapy as a foil in his accounting for the apparent rise in popularity of Freudian Psychoanalysis. His characterization of CBT is riven with inaccuracies, beginning with the grossly simplistic depiction of the approach as being a “quick fix” to the notion that therapists in this theoretical orientation dispense tired bromides such as recommending that one merely have more positive thoughts. These are profoundly inaccurate, and any well-trained CBT practitioner is actually deeply concerned with the environmental and historical forces in one’s life that led to their need for therapy, and that merely thinking “good thoughts” is insufficient for wellness.
Instead, CBT recognizes that all behaviors and emotions are adaptive, and thus the challenges that brings someone to therapy often emerged for good reason. The task in CBT is therefore to identify the various current, as well as personal historical, causes and work to systematically address these. Doing so can sometimes be far more efficient than psychoanalysis, but it is nevertheless time consuming and hardly a “quick fix.”
There is an alternative and simplistic explanation for the apparent rise in the popularity of psychoanalysis that Dr. Ferraro does not entertain. Over the past three years, demand for mental health care has exploded. Every single mental health worker I know is fielding high volumes of calls from people seeking treatment. Indeed, surveys have shown that the average person seeking mental health care has to call at least thirty (yes, 30!) providers before finding someone who might have a wait list or can work with them in a reasonable time frame. It is therefore just as possible that psychoanalytic therapists are busier due to high volume of clients in need rather than a sudden change of heart by the public toward long-term non-directive treatment.
Dean McKay, PhD, ABPP
Port Washington
The writer is a Professor of Psychology at Fordham University, Board Certified in Clinical and Cognitive-Behavioral Psychology in the American Board of Professional Psychology, Past President (2014) of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) and Past President (2018) of the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology.
