Psychology's New God (a critique of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy)

As the article states, most talking therapies show the same efficacy, whether they involve six one-hour sessions or a decade of intensive analysis. To me, this is a clear indicator that nobody has beaten placebo and we really need a different model.

If we practiced surgery the same way we practice psychiatry, we would be routinely trepanning people if they seemed 'resistant to conventional treatment'. There is no sense in psychiatry that it is unethical to administer unproven treatments without clear informed consent. This has to stop. Psychotherapy needs to develop a firm framework to prevent patients from being subjected to pseudoscience, or it should be abolished and reformed from scratch.

To be blunt, psychoanalysts are vampires, extracting huge fees from vulnerable clients with absolutely no evidence justifying the time and expense. I see them as no different to psychics or faith healers. They obfuscate the argument by debating the merits of various therapies with no basis in neuroscience and no strong evidence of efficacy. We look back at the history of psychiatry and are horrified at what we see. I fully expect that our descendants will be horrified at how we practice psychiatry.

Not trying to make a point in reference to CBT, I'm just curious about the numbers, if you feel like sharing.

Well, that's the question isn't it? Has it really been proven to be superior, or is it just scientistic, reductionist hype that is championed by insurers, governments, and societies that values cheap, quick, superficial bandaids instead of potentially more expensive approaches that might actually require a long, hard look at the depths of your own self.

"I say this as a huge advocate, and student of, Jung, Freud, Adler and the rest."

I really wonder about that, considering your later mischaracterization of Jungian therapy.

"But come on, if something helps people who can't leave the house, hold a job, or drive a car function again, without 10 years of 5 session a week therapy, how can you ethically justify attacking it this way."

But does it help them? That is the key question. You clearly seem to think so. Not everyone agrees.

"CBT attempts to change negative thoughts and maladaptive behavior by addressing thoughts and behavior. Jungian therapy attempts to help people integrate elements of their psyche carried over from previous lives, an inherited collective psyche (yes Jung was a Nazi)."

First, it's not like Jungian psychology does not "address thoughts and behavior". It does. It just has a different understanding of what the causes of these thoughts and behaviors are, what they mean, and how and when to change them.

Second, to say that "Jungian therapy attempts to help people integrate elements of their psyche carried over from previous lives" makes it sound like Jungian therapy is based on a belief in reincarnation. This is false.

"an inherited collective psyche"

This is more accurate. Humans inherit certain instincts, such as the sucking instinct a baby exhibits when presented with a nipple. Human brain structure is partially an inherited characteristic. Jungians argue that there are psychological instincts that are also inherited.

For instance, an image of a breast might trigger certain feelings and behavior in an infant. The image of an infant might trigger certain feelings and behavior in a mother.

The actual theory of such "archetypes" the "collective unconscious" is actually much more complex. Entire books, in fact many, many books have been written on these subjects. So the above should not be taken as even an adequate summary, much less an exhaustive account of what they're about.

"Jung was a Nazi"

This is troubling and problematic, but not really relevant to the question of whether Jungian therapy works. It's even less relevant to the question of whether CBT works.