Rapid Response to Cognitive Behavior Therapy

While Tang and DeRubeis's analysis (this issue) is well taken, rapid response to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) appears to be a general phenomenon that is not limited to the treatment of depression but occurs in other disorders such as bulimia nervosa and alcohol abuse. Rapid response to CBT has implications for theory, research, and clinical practice. It focuses renewed attention on specifying the so-called "nonspecifics" of therapy. Studies designed to identify mechanisms of change need to include early, session-by-session measures of proposed mediators. Identification of nonresponders to CBT might provide therapists with guidelines for switching to potentially more effective treatments.