Logic-based therapy (Cohen)

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage · Elliot D. Cohen · 1985

What it is

LBT is a philosophical form of cognitive-behavioural work. Cohen calls it "a highly philosophical variant of rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)", and the NPCA describes it as an offspring of Albert Ellis's REBT. Cohen developed it from the mid-1980s; the NPCA dates his Institute (originally…

Format

• Format: individual, conversational sessions in which the practitioner teaches the client to analyse their own reasoning; the published worked examples are single-client cases on everyday emotions (anger, guilt, anxiety, bereavement complicated by guilt).
• Session count: the sources give no session count or duration. For consultants, the NPCA says sessions end when the specific problem is addressed.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• LBT is a philosophical form of cognitive-behavioural work. Cohen calls it "a highly philosophical variant of rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT)", and the NPCA describes it as an offspring of Albert Ellis's REBT. Cohen developed it from the mid-1980s; the NPCA dates his Institute (originally the Institute of Critical Thinking) to 1985, founded to integrate logic and philosophy into REBT. For the parent therapy…
• What this is and is not: LBT is used both by licensed clinicians (who may apply it to mental disorders within their licence) and by philosophy-trained consultants, who work only on problems of living and must refer mental disorders. This guide is for a licensed psychotherapist; it does not present philosophical consultation as treatment for mental disorder.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Turning this into reassurance-giving. Working signal: the client generates alternatives themselves.
• Over-long chains that lose the client. Working signal: the client sees where in the chain the action was decided.
• Plans that are too big; plans that are only cognitive. Working signal: the client reports trying the plan, whatever the outcome.
• Dependence on the therapist to spot fallacies. Working signal: the client catches and corrects their own reasoning in real time.
• Shame if the test feels like an accusation; keep it curious. Working signal: the client spontaneously considers the other's view.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.