Some clarification on my thoughts about cognitive therapy -- to help me better organize my thinking, if not to help anyone else.

No doubt we do develop distorted thinking as children -- because as children there is almost no way we can understand why the big people do the things they do. Especially if they don't know themselves. But how do you correct your thinking? Not by being told it is distorted, and then told what the "correct" thoughts are. If that happens, all you learn is that somebody told you that your thoughts were distorted, and here are the thoughts you should think. There is no opportunity to learn on your own and form your own judgements about what is distorted and what isn't. You are still relying on "authority." And an authority that isn't very well put together, if that's the approach they take.

I realize this may be a distortion of what a "good" CBTherapy would do, but I think there are lots who do in fact do something along these lines. And most do not well enough distinguish what they really do, to keep themselves on a path to make their therapy really helpful.