Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a hybrid of Behavioral Therapy ( BT) and Cognitive Therapy (CT), focuses on modifying maladaptive thoughts and behaviors to achieve psychological change. Behavioral Therapy has it's origins in a cumulative body of work spanning 19th century classical conditioning to Systematic Desensitization developed in the mid 1950s. Behavioral Therapy views psychological disorders as learned or conditioned behaviors that can be unlearned and changed through behavioral modification.

Cognitive Therapy (CT) was developed in the 1960s by psychologists Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck. Both Ellis and Beck argued that BT’s hard rejection of the "unscientific" theories and practices of psychoanalysis erred in overlooking the role of cognition in psychological disturbances. Independently they emphasized the role of cognitive process in the development of psychological conditions where “maladaptive” beliefs give rise to erroneous interpretations that in turn drive emotional distress. Treatment involves the use of socratic questioning to challenge and reframe such "cognitive distortions, which decreases emotional distress. leading to positive behavior changes. Click on the buttons below to view a summary and graphic of the CT model.

Today CBT boasts over 50 years of research, validating its efficacy and status as the treatment of choice for a range of conditions. This dissemination has contributed to a dynamic evolution of CBT, as methods have been adapted to the unique characteristics of the conditions being treated. This, in turn, has attracted new generations of researchers with increasingly diverse clinical interests. Unfortunately, competing theoretical and clinical orientations have also emerged, and their co-existence has not always been harmonious. Consequently, modern CBT, in spite of having shared origins and a common foundation is not a unified method but a canvas of diverse approaches and practices.

Across the spectrum of cognitive and behavioral therapies, I lean heavily toward cognitive therapy. But my speciality training in the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder has most influenced my clinical development, and ultimately lead me to the Inferential Based Approach (IBA)- a new generation of cognitive therapy, developed by Kieron O’Connor, a clinical researcher at the University of Montreal in Canada.

Although my methods have been shaped by these models and practices, experience has taught me that at times, adaptive blending of models can be more effective. Thus, the choice of method(s) will often depend on the anxiety disorder(s), phase of work as well as unique needs of the individual and themes being addressed

For, example, I follow the established protocols of David Barlow’s Panic Control Therapy- a cognitive and behavioral approach that remains the gold standard for the treatment of panic disorder; whereas, I consider the behaviorally-based systematic desensitization to be the first line treatment for phobias, claustrophobia and even blood/injection phobia. At any given point during treatment, however, I will freely and strategically toggle between models and methods, as needed, to best leverage change regardless of the condition I am treating.

The Inferential Based Approach (IBA), as noted above, was developed by Kieron O'Connor, a professor of clinical psychology and OCD researcher at the University of Montreal. Several years ago, IBA was renamed Inferential Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy as its roots are in the CBT traditions. ICBT represents a significant innovation in cognitive therapy, and likely the most consequential contribution to the theory and psychotherapy of OCD in the past 30 years. While Beckian cognitive therapy argues that obsessions are the product of maladaptive interpretations of intrusions, Dr. O'Connor's research indicated that obsessions start with unique doubting narratives, characterized by a confusion between what is real and what is imagined.

ICBT is more effective, in my experience, in that it drills down into the logic of how obsessions are "constructed" allowing for a much more granular map of process and content than do other models. Understanding the type of reasoning that undergirds obsessional constructions, ultimately undermines reliance on imagination and strengthens trust in reality.This knowledge empowers the person to push past the paralysis of fear that stands in the way of change. Although ICBT was developed and validated for the treatment of OCD, I have found that it can also augment the treatment of other anxiety disorders, such as generalized worry as well as panic with and without agoraphobia. Even in the case of specific phobias, which respond well to traditional exposure and habituation, ICBT can break a treatment impasse, when insidious, obsessional-type doubting is present.

Although, I strongly believe in establishing clear and measurable behavioral goals, in my approach, the “C” in CBT, is the figure in the ground of treatment. In behavioral therapy this focus is inverted, where exposure is essentially a stand-alone method. Cognitive therapy emphasizes how meaning enters into the equation, where there are multiple possibilities of interpreting situations. As such, exposures are viewed as behavioral experiments to test alternative "hypotheses". In IBA, where obsessions are viewed as a drift from reality, exposure is termed “reality sensing”, as there is a re-grounding to what really is vs what is possible or imagined. I generally frame behavioral goals through the lens of reality sensing, although I also believe that the perspective of behavioral experiments, at times, can be useful. Again, as I explained above, the choice of method or how an intervention is framed is fluid and tactical for me.

I do not believe that the unnatural exposures many behavioral therapist still use are necessary or even appropriate. For example, when treating contamination obsessions, asking a sufferer to touch a toilet seat and then lick their finger, is not reasonable or necessarily safe. However, I consider the way (ERP) is used to treat tormenting, repugnant obsessions even more problematic. This method involves having clients write out detailed scripts of their tormenting obsessions in which they actually commit the horrific acts they imagine they are capable of and then listening to these torturous narratives repeatedly until “desensitized”. As I explain on the OCD page of this site, I believe that, in addition to increasing the risk of drop out, I consider these exposure methods not only to be misdirected, but also counter-productive and potentially harmful. In the words of a former client when describing such exposures: “it’s like being asked to desensitize to heights by climbing on a unicorn.” In the case of tormenting obsessions specifically, I would say that this is like having to imagine and fully immerse yourself in the idea of being crushed in an elevator [complete with funeral and grieving family] to overcome claustrophobia.