ABSTRACT
This misconception often arises because of the confusion between the meanings of 'simple' and 'simplistic': straightforward versus over-simple. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is not simplistic; it attempts to follow the law of parsimony or Ockham's razor: 'If you can explain something adequately without introducing further complexity, then the simple explanation is the best explanation'. The therapist attempts to follow Ockham's razor by looking for simple explanations and solutions rather than complex ones. Beck was keen on stressing that 'there's more to the surface than meets the eye'. What he meant by this was that the client's automatic thoughts could be taken at face value to understand her emotional reaction to events and therapy could be conducted successfully at this surface level by examining and correcting these distortions in her thinking in order to improve her mood. When further complexity is necessary, explanations still follow the law of parsimony in 'specifying the simplest sufficient explanation for a stated purpose'.
