Moran, D. J. (2008). The Three Waves of Behavior Therapy: Course Corrections or Navigation Errors? The Behavior Therapist, Special Issue, Winter, 147-157.
On a cold November morning in 2007, in the City of Brotherly Love, six men met to present their ideas about recent developments in cognitive-behavior therapy. The room was full for the Sunday-morning event at the ABCT convention in Philadelphia, and attendees witnessed contention, table-banging, and surprise betrayals from the "wave" that were previously considered alliances. The audience members got in on the debate, too. Some glimpses of reconciliation were there, but at the end of the confrontation it seemed that there is still a long way to go before behavior therapy establishes an evidence-based integration of the different perspectives. If such a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step ... this meeting at least demonstrated a willingness to lace up our shoes. The panel discussion inspired the present article from representatives from the three generations of behavior therapy. The scientist-practitioners summarize their views on the current state of behavior therapy and about the differences and similarities between behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and the third-wave approaches. The following papers were authored by the participants of that presentation: Kurt Salzinger, Robert Leahy, Steven Hayes, Richard O'Brien, Raymond DiGiuseppe, and D.J. Moran. These submissions are reflections, sentiments, and perspectives from that morning.
-Daniel J. Moran,
MidAmerican
Psychological Institute