Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: What the Critics Get Right (and Wrong) w/ Dr. Ellen Hendriksen

Clinical psychologist Dr. Ellen Hendriksen joins Forrest to walk through the history and evolution of cognitive behavioral therapy — from its behaviorist roots through the cognitive revolution to today’s mindfulness-informed third wave. They tackle the most common critiques: that CBT can feel reductive or like “spreadsheet therapy,” why it sometimes backfires with trauma or highly intellectual clients, and its complex relationship with insurance. The conversation then applies a CBT lens to Ellen’s own specialties — self-criticism, perfectionism, procrastination, and social anxiety — offering concrete ways to work with the two ingredients of perfectionism and break the link between perfectionism and paralysis.