CBT: From American Innovation to European Therapeutic “Monoculture”?—Transatlantic Transfer of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and its British Afterlife

StatusVoR
Simple item page
cris.lastimport.scopus2025-12-20T04:10:15Z
dc.abstract.enThis article critically examines the historical, philosophical, and socio-political trajectory of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), tracing its evolution from a distinctly American psychological innovation to its hegemonic institutionalization in the United Kingdom. It situates CBT within three successive “waves” and highlights its philosophical roots in American empiricism, pragmatism, and individualism. The analysis underscores CBT’s compatibility with neoliberal ideals, particularly its emphasis on personal responsibility, cost-effectiveness, and quantifiable outcomes. Through a socio-historical lens, the article explores CBT’s transatlantic transmission into the UK, detailing its development through academic institutions, government-backed initiatives such as IAPT, and policy frameworks like NICE. It further contrasts the British embrace of CBT with the more resistant reception in France, underscoring how national intellectual traditions and political cultures mediate therapeutic adoption. The article also assesses the philosophical and methodological critiques surrounding CBT’s dominance, including concerns about therapeutic monoculture, reductionism, and the marginalization of alternative approaches. Finally, it explores emerging trends such as third-wave and process-based therapies, arguing that CBT’s structured and protocol-driven nature makes it particularly adaptable to contemporary challenges, including the digitalization of mental healthcare. The study offers a timely reflection on how psychotherapy practices become entangled with broader epistemological, political, and cultural forces.
dc.affiliationInstytut Nauk Humanistycznych
dc.affiliationWydział Nauk Humanistycznych w Warszawie
dc.contributor.authorGrzęda, Paulina
dc.date.access2025-12-18
dc.date.accessioned2025-12-19T12:55:10Z
dc.date.available2025-12-19T12:55:10Z
dc.date.created2025-12-18
dc.date.issued2025-12-18
dc.description.abstract<jats:p>This article critically examines the historical, philosophical, and socio-political trajectory of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), tracing its evolution from a distinctly American psychological innovation to its hegemonic institutionalization in the United Kingdom. It situates CBT within three successive “waves” and highlights its philosophical roots in American empiricism, pragmatism, and individualism. The analysis underscores CBT’s compatibility with neoliberal ideals, particularly its emphasis on personal responsibility, cost-effectiveness, and quantifiable outcomes. Through a socio-historical lens, the article explores CBT’s transatlantic transmission into the UK, detailing its development through academic institutions, government-backed initiatives such as IAPT, and policy frameworks like NICE. It further contrasts the British embrace of CBT with the more resistant reception in France, underscoring how national intellectual traditions and political cultures mediate therapeutic adoption. The article also assesses the philosophical and methodological critiques surrounding CBT’s dominance, including concerns about therapeutic monoculture, reductionism, and the marginalization of alternative approaches. Finally, it explores emerging trends such as third-wave and process-based therapies, arguing that CBT’s structured and protocol-driven nature makes it particularly adaptable to contemporary challenges, including the digitalization of mental healthcare. The study offers a timely reflection on how psychotherapy practices become entangled with broader epistemological, political, and cultural forces.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.issue3
dc.description.physical1-25
dc.description.sdgGoodHealthAndWellBeing
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume20
dc.identifier.doi10.4000/15dm7
dc.identifier.issn1991-9336
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/2113
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://journals.openedition.org/ejas/24529
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationnauki o kulturze i religii
dc.pbn.affiliationliteraturoznawstwo
dc.rightsCC-BY
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.enCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
dc.subject.enpsychotherapy history
dc.subject.encultural transfer of therapy
dc.subject.enUK mental health policy
dc.subject.enU.S. mental health policy
dc.subject.enculture of psychology
dc.subject.ensocio-political contexts of psychotherapy
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleCBT: From American Innovation to European Therapeutic “Monoculture”?—Transatlantic Transfer of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and its British Afterlife
dc.title.journalEuropean journal of American studies
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle