Psychology Seminar: James D. Herbert (Drexel University)

Sabancı University
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

PSYCHOLOGY SEMINAR

The “Third Wave” of Behavior Therapy:  The Rise of Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Models

James D. Herbert

(Drexel University)

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

15:30   FASS 2034

Abstract:

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT; broadly defined) is overtaking psychoanalysis as the dominant model of psychotherapy across the world.  The evolution of CBT can be traced into three distinct generations or “waves,” including early behavior therapy beginning in the 1950s, cognitive therapy beginning in the 1970s, and approaches that highlight mindfulness and psychological acceptance beginning in the 1990s.  Mindfulness-based approaches arose in part from limitations of traditional cognitive models of CBT, but controversy continues regarding their degree of uniqueness in terms of theory, technique, and efficacy.  Research over the past decade suggests that these models are indeed distinctive from earlier approaches, and may offer new approaches to the treatment of difficult clinical disorders, as well as insights into novel interventions targeting broader social problems (e.g., discrimination, stigma).  In this talk, I will briefly review the history of behavior therapy, followed by the theory and research on these newer approaches to CBT.  The “third wave” model that has attracted the most attention from both clinicians and scholars, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, will be highlighted.

P.S.: The seminar will be in English.