SOME CONTRIBUTIONS OF PIAGET GENETIC EPISTEMOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY TO COGNITIVE THERAPY

Cognitive therapists are presently striving to establish a theoretical foundation for their therapeutical practice. Having shown the efficac y of cognitive therapies in the treatment of certain psychiatric disor ders and having refined their intervention techniques, these therapist s are seeking a theory-based understanding of the psychological mechan isms subtending the changes occurring during therapy. The absence of a directly relevant cognitive theory led us to consider how certain con cepts of Piaget's constructivism-essentially a theory of knowledge cha nge-might contribute to the issue. Our paper is thus not an instance o f applying Piagetian theory to cognitive psychotherapy but of its use as an epistemic instrument. Egocentrism and decentration, the growth o f awareness and action, and the relations between cognition and emotio n are elements of Piagetian theory as well as nodal points in the area of cognitive therapy. Some clinical examples illustrate our approach.