ABSTRACT
The cognitivist delusion is exactly that: the delusion that modern humans are primarily cognitive, rational-decision-making beings. The delusion continues: thoughts precede emotions and are separable from them. Emotions arise when they are triggered by thoughts (cognitions). Thoughts/cognitions themselves consist of the perception of the situation one finds oneself in, and the emotions are the response to that perception. Each kind of irrational perception constitutes a specific mental disorder and is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Each of the irrational perceptions/cognitions can be corrected by a specific Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) treatment. Once corrected, once cognition matches reality, then the emotional life falls into line and the person is in recovery. However, the author argues that the final delusions are supplied by Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT)—who distort the way that CBT is delivered in order that reality is made to look like it matches the delusion.
