INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL SECTION - THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE COGNITIVE PSYCHOTHERAPIES

The cognitive psychotherapies have developed and substantially differentiated since their inception in the 1950s. Six major themes in their theoretical development are discussed: (a) the differentiation of rationalist and constructivist therapies and metatheories of knowing; (b) the acknowledgment of social, biological, and embodiment processes in therapy; (c) the recognition of unconscious processes; (d) an increasing focus on self-organizing and self-protective processes in life span personality development, with such processes being embedded in interpersonal and social system dynamics; (e) a shift toward different views of emotionality and the incorporation of experiential techniques; and (f) a synergistic involvement in the psychotherapy integration movement. The cognitive psychotherapies reflect remarkable activity, a point illustrated and elaborated in the articles that constitute this special section.