Psicoterapias cognitivas

Abstract

Cognitive theory was formulated more than 50 years ago by Beck. Since then, its therapeutic applications have evolved in parallel with advances in neuroscience. Cognitive therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy refer to similar therapeutic procedures and the terms can be used interchangeably. They constitute the most evidence-based empirical model of psychological treatment and have demonstrated their efficiency and effectiveness in a wide range of psychiatric disorders and psychological conditions. This evidence is particularly strong for their application in depressive disorders. In the main clinical practice guidelines, cognitive therapy is the recommended psychological treatment, and even the treatment of choice, for these disorders, and has the same efficiency level as antidepressants for some of the clinical presentations of depression. In the search for greater therapeutic specificity, a heterogeneous group of cognitive-behavioural treatments have been developed in the last 15 years. These new cognitive-behavioural treatments, based on similar aetiological models and understanding of the disorder (the importance of cognitive information processing to achieve emotional regulation), propose to focus on the process of dysfunctional thought rather than on its content. These treatments are known as “third-wave” cognitive-behavioural therapies. More recently, cognitive therapy has progressed by establishing its neurological basis, resulting in new therapeutic proposals: cognitive remediation therapies, which focus on improving cognitive dysfunction in depressive disorders. The results are promising but require validation.