ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on differences and similarities between the two therapeutic approaches, arguing for the possibility and desirability of a more integrative approach. The two therapeutic approaches are Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Experiential Dynamic Therapy (EDT). The original point of departure of CBT was that problematic feelings and behaviours, the focus of psychotherapy, were first and foremost a function of illogical, distorted, irrational thinking and perceiving. The framework within EDT is that due to an abusive learning history, the anxiety/fear of authentic feeling leads to defences that in turn cause the pathology to be treated. One striking similarity is that both CBT and EDT assign a prominent role to avoidance/escape/defence as a factor that is responsible for escalating a difficulty into a problem. From an evolutionary point of view, anxiety is a normal, natural, and necessary emotional response that alerts the organism to real, existential danger.
