The three waves of behavioural psychotherapy: theory, evidence and practice towards improved wellbeing

Numerous psychotherapies hold the promise of improving our clients' wellbeing. Some of the most prominent contemporary approaches fall under the broad heading of 'behavioural' psychotherapies. The history of scientific psychology is paralleled in the history of behavioural psychotherapies, which have arisen in three 'waves': traditional conditioning-based therapies, cognitive-behavioural therapies, and mindfulness-based therapies.The overarching aim of this talk is to characterise these three approaches in terms of their theoretical assumptions, evidence base and clinical implications. Shared features will be highlighted (e.g., the transparent and collaborative therapeutic process), as will important differences (e.g., changing assumptions about the nature of the person). Examples of particular interventions and their application in counselling will be provided. It will be argued that the behavioural psychotherapies provide a wide range of relatively simple tools with demonstrated efficacy, but evidence-informed counselling practice requires more than scientific evidence of efficacy: To obtain the best outcomes for a particular client, the counsellor must integrate evidence from the scientific literature with knowledge about this client's personal and social context, values and preferences