The Development of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Practice, Research, and Future Directions in Latin America

Although Latin America countries are similar in many aspects, psychology has evolved in different ways, according to the characteristics related to politics, economics, and culture of each country. This is the context in which CBT has spread through the region since the 1980s. This article aims to offer a brief historical overview of CBT development in Latin America and the challenges of its current practice. The inclusion of CBT in undergraduate and graduate studies of psychology, the therapists training programs, cultural challenges, and the CBT ​​research were discussed in this paper. All things considered, the main challenge of CBT in Latin America is to constantly reaffirm the scientific foundations of the theory and to continue to work in the scientific production of knowledge and its dissemination.