Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Doesn't Work

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the lastest rage in psychotherapy treatment, does not work unless the person has a vested interest in thinking about their behavior, its causes and consequences. The client has to believe there is something valuable in the fine art of thinking. The client must also have a surrounding culture that supports a life of contemplation, which is why anyone using it to overcome addiction must be a part of a 12 step community. Living in a world that supports if not encourages habitual impulsivity will not allow one to venture successfully into the world of self-contemplation. Habitual impulsivity is too addictive in and of itself to be easily ignored or passed over for something far less attractive as thinking. The failure to find thinking appealing knows no social/economic strata nor any ethnic or racial boundaries (note the "Real Housewives" series on BRAVO then honestly compare them to the "ladies" living in any troubled inner city near you-there is really not much difference). The folks at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (part of the federal Department of Health and Human Services) need to move beyond "evidence-based practice" and back to practical considerations and face facts about who they are funding folks to treat.