Cognitive ethical therapy? The role of moral judgements in cognitive therapy

Cognitive therapy was originally formulated as a way of helping clients by applying rational thinking to the appraisal of their realities. The expectation was that this would undo ways of thinking that cause distress and maladaptive behaviours. However this model has been called into question by recent experimental data. This paper argues from a philosophical perspective that empirical rationality has significant shortcomings as a method of promoting self‐understanding in the therapeutic situation. However, rational thinking forms the basis of one of the major schools of moral theory, formulated by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. The present paper argues that his ideas have important applications to cognitive therapy. It suggests that therapy might use rationality not only to appraise reality more accurately but also to generate precepts for personal behaviour. This idea is illustrated using an example of a client receiving cognitive therapy. The paper concludes with a discussion of the applicability of moral theory to clinical practice and a suggestion that cognitive therapy might be viewed as a form of applied ethics. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.