Fascinating discussion. My only quibble is with ‘the most important breakthrough in psychiatry in my lifetime has been cognitive behavior therapy’.
I can think of various psychiatric treatments from 70s onward which seem more transformational than CBT - clozapine for treatment resistant schizophrenia and lithium for bipolar disorder sprin…
Fascinating discussion. My only quibble is with ‘the most important breakthrough in psychiatry in my lifetime has been cognitive behavior therapy’.
I can think of various psychiatric treatments from 70s onward which seem more transformational than CBT - clozapine for treatment resistant schizophrenia and lithium for bipolar disorder spring to mind.
If anything, recent research seems to challenge the superiority of CBT over other modalities of psychotherapy!
On a quick look, Clozapine was first developed in 1958 (I was 4) and Lithium long before i was born. On a fair reading of lifetime to mean, "my professional career" we are talking about developments since the 80s.
Ha! I had a quibble with that too, and Eric and I had a little discussion off the books about it. I think the development of second-generation antipsychotics and antidepressants and elaboration of the associated molecular pharmacology shaped psychiatric practice as much as CBT shaped clinical psychology. The limitations of both are also painfully evident now.
Other than clozapine and lithium, I agree with you!
Maybe you could make an argument for CBT having the potential to help more people with common mental disorders (mild-moderate depression / anxiety), but I don’t think it has greatly influenced the treatment of major mental illnesses (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia)
There is nothing “gloomy” about the prospect of leveling a century and a half of genetic determinism, which has led to so much harm and misery. It’s a chance to have real discussions about the human mind without the usual suspects pigeon-holing it. Good riddance to the fantasy that is behavioral genetics.
Fascinating discussion. My only quibble is with ‘the most important breakthrough in psychiatry in my lifetime has been cognitive behavior therapy’.
I can think of various psychiatric treatments from 70s onward which seem more transformational than CBT - clozapine for treatment resistant schizophrenia and lithium for bipolar disorder spring to mind.
If anything, recent research seems to challenge the superiority of CBT over other modalities of psychotherapy!
On a quick look, Clozapine was first developed in 1958 (I was 4) and Lithium long before i was born. On a fair reading of lifetime to mean, "my professional career" we are talking about developments since the 80s.
Apologies for inadvertently discussing your age!
Ha! I had a quibble with that too, and Eric and I had a little discussion off the books about it. I think the development of second-generation antipsychotics and antidepressants and elaboration of the associated molecular pharmacology shaped psychiatric practice as much as CBT shaped clinical psychology. The limitations of both are also painfully evident now.
What would be on your list?
Other than clozapine and lithium, I agree with you!
Maybe you could make an argument for CBT having the potential to help more people with common mental disorders (mild-moderate depression / anxiety), but I don’t think it has greatly influenced the treatment of major mental illnesses (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia)
There is nothing “gloomy” about the prospect of leveling a century and a half of genetic determinism, which has led to so much harm and misery. It’s a chance to have real discussions about the human mind without the usual suspects pigeon-holing it. Good riddance to the fantasy that is behavioral genetics.