Introduction

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) may be defined as a set of empirically grounded clinical interventions implemented by therapists who understand themselves to be operating as scientist-practitioners (Salkovskis, 2002). These interventions, however, must be understood as being far more than the mere application of ready to hand techniques or ‘tools’ but rather as direct expressions of an explicit, sophisticated and continually developing, theoretical model(s) of the nature of psychopathology and the processes of human change.

Despite its being a relatively young psychotherapy, CBT has clearly come of age over the past decade and is widely recognized as the ‘treatment of choice’ for an ever expanding range of clinical presentations. For example, evidence for the effectiveness of CBT has been gained in the treatment of depression (Young et al., 2001), panic disorder (Clark et al., 1994) and eating disorders (Wilson & Fairburn, 1998). The approach has also gained supporting evidence in the area of more severe presentations including personality disorders (Beck & Freeman, 1990) and schizophrenia (Fowler et al., 1995). In addition to its growing empirical support and popularity, the approach has also attracted its fair share of challenges and criticisms. While the field of psychotherapy often continues to be characterized by a competitive ‘all or nothing’ stance in which only one model may emerge victorious, an important and developing movement in the field is the interest in integrative approaches which emphasize a more respectful dialogue and openness between different styles of approach.