----- Original Message -----

From: [log in to unmask]" href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Paul Moloney

To: [log in to unmask]" href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]

Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2013 7:57 PM

Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] Politically neutral BBC as always...

Yes.... although a minority of the more thoughtful CBT practitioners / theorists acknowledge that tough environments can 'exacerbate' people's problems (and still retaining an element of the 'victim is to blame' outllook) but then go on to advocate more of the same (more prolonged CBT), as the solution, while some place more emphasis upon helping the client to access more benign / self affirming environments. The latter seems more sensible to me, but still poses the question of how easy it might be to find such environments in the first place - especially if the client does not come from one of the more privileged sections of society, as is often the case if you work in the NHS, of course.  The whole issue of course also ignores the question of the embodied history of distress, which David Smail encapsulated in the following observation (which may well be very familiar to a lot of the people on this list): that we learn to be fundamentally anxious or downbeat in the same way that we learn to ride a bicycle. Such knowledge is tacit, profound, and often beyond the reach of words or of transient behavioural tricks. 

Paul 

> Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2013 15:15:59 +0100
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Politically neutral BBC as always...
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> But that idea, about CBT being based not on events themselves but our
> interpretation of events, is precisely the very foundation of CBT. So
> it's not just BBC reporting which is the problem, but CBT itself...which
> has obviously been said many times.
>
>
>
> On 2013-08-08 14:46, Michael Walton wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I just read the article myself and I share your concern. I'm
> > especially worried by "CBT is based on the idea that problems aren't
> > caused by situations themselves, but by how we interpret them in our
> > thoughts". This sentence alone is blaming the victim, and suggests
> > that situational factors do not matter. If an individual were
> > depressed because they were unemployed, helping them to reinterpret
> > their job hunt could help, but it won't improve the economy, make
> > more
> > jobs or remove the competition.
> >
> > Have you read much on critical health psychology? The area has some
> > interesting critical view points on 'mainstream' psychology.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > On 8 Aug 2013, at 10:26, Jivan Mohanty <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/23590545
> >>
> >> Is anyone at least in the slightest perturbed by the BBC's article
> >> above, and general orientation towards psychology, that uncritically
> >> advocates CBT? I don't even know who authored this article. How to
> >> even begin combatting this one-dimensional view of therapy that is
> >> being made/has been made hegemonic by the BBC and other news outlets?
> >>
> >> ___________________________________
> >> There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post
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> >>
> >
> > ___________________________________
> > There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post
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>
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___________________________________ There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post contact Grant [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK