A Commentary on Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Where We Have Been, Where We Are, and Where We Need to Go From Here

•50th anniversary issue of Cognitive and Behavioral Practice•Child and adolescent anxiety•Past and future of CBT

In this commentary, I use my own career and contributions to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) as a point of departure and reflect upon where the field was when I obtained my graduate training in the late 60s, how it has changed over the past 50 years, and where it needs to go to remain alive and vibrant in the years ahead. Early on CBT was firmly and almost exclusively grounded in learning theory. Although learning theory remains our foundational core to this day, our primary allegiance these days is to broader evidence-based principles of change and the scientific pursuit of evidence-based interventions. Still, although we have accomplished much, we must do more in the years ahead of us. First we need to become more expansive in our attempts to understand the many and diverse problems we treat and, second, we must become more rigorous in the ways in which we assess and treat these problems. I conclude by indicating that although we are 50 years of age this year, and we have much reason to celebrate, we are really only in the adolescent period of our development. Growth is ahead of us.