The New CBT: Clinical Evolutionary Psychology

Details about The New CBT: Clinical Evolutionary Psychology:

Filling a void in the clinical literature, The New CBT: Clinical Evolutionary Psychology integrates new techniques of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with evidence-based evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics. The text addresses the need for clinicians to be conversant with the burgeoning research that has linked evolutionary and genetic processes to psychological problems. This text makes these essential elements accessible to both clinicians and their clients so they can develop a deeper understanding of crucial clinical topics, such as emotional feelings, cognition, and behavioral change. The New CBT explains the processes of the mind and provides solutions to many of the problems that arise when these processes lead to dysfunction or distress.

The text reviews how the application of evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics provides both etiological insights and novel treatments for each of the major psychological disorders. Readers are offered evidenced-based explanations of how evolution and genetics can pragmatically resolve the enduring problem of nature versus nurture. Additionally, they come to understand how eons of environmental changes have guided the way people deal with distress, perceive their environment, and judge others as well as themselves. By viewing both normative and problematic behavior through an evolutionary lens, readers gain new perspectives in applying CBT that are thoroughly modern, effective, and take into consideration cutting-edge research.

The New CBT is an ideal text for upper-division courses in psychology, psychotherapy, and psychopathology, especially those with an emphasis on CBT. It is also an excellent resource for practicing clinicians who wish to update or reframe their understanding and use of CBT, evolutionary psychology, or behavioral genetics.

What reviewers are saying about The New CBT:

"The New CBT is an absolutely terrific and ground-breaking book. It provides cutting-edge science about clinical evolutionary psychology, with profound implications for treatment. Incorporating an evolutionary perspective on psychological disorders gives readers, clients, students, and professionals a tremendously important lens for understanding and treatment. Simply put, it's the best book out there. Abrams has done a terrific job interweaving case studies with deep psychological understanding and the latest empirically-based evidence. I recommend this book in the highest terms and without reservation."
David M. Buss
Author of Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind

"Work in evolutionary psychology and genetics has been limited to explanations as opposed to applications. Mike Abrams' book is the first to systematically apply evolutionary and genetic principles to theory and treatment of psychological problems."
Dr. Robert Plomin, MRC Research Professor in Behavioral Genetics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
Author of Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are

"Most people will suffer from psychological distress at some point in their lives. Some will turn to psychotherapy for help with dealing with life's adversities. Cleverly integrating evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics with basic principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Psychologist Mike Abrams provides us with new insights into how we might more effectively alleviate stress by changing the way people think and behave. Clinicians who hope to provide this much-needed help, and students who are learning to be clinicians themselves, will enjoy The New CBT, and be fascinated by the creative approach that Abrams has taken in this one-of-a-kind text."
Elizabeth Loftus, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor, University of California, Irvine
Past President, Association for Psychological Science