Cognitive behavioral therapy and hinge commitments
Abstract
This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.
A theoretical tenet of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has it that some of the key contributors to mental suffering are maladaptive core beliefs. The aim of this paper is to offer a novel model of the core mental states targeted by CBT. I proceed as follows. First, I elaborate on the desiderata for any theory of the target core states. Second, having identified the key features of the core states, I show that these states are unlikely to be proper beliefs. Third, considering the specific profile of core states, I argue that they are rather a kind of hinge commitment. Finally, I turn to the explanatory power of the proposed view, elucidating why revising one´s core states is such a challenging task. I conclude that the model of the core states as a kind of hinge commitment illuminates their specific nature and function, thereby explaining which therapeutic methods are promising to improve mental health.
Keywords: Hinge commitments, Core beliefs, Cognitive behavioral therapy, Evidence resistance, Background function, certainty