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    Cognitive behavioral therapy

    认知行为治疗

    Therapy
    Also called
    CBT, Cognitive behaviour therapy

    A family of structured talking therapies built on the premise that automatic thoughts in specific situations, and the beliefs behind them, help keep emotional distress and problem behavior going, so changing how a person thinks and acts can reduce distress.[2][3]

    Keep the situation, try another explanation, and watch the emotion and behavior change with it. Only the thought changed. Looking for other explanations with a therapist and practicing new actions between sessions are common parts of CBT.

    Select any part for details. The boxes use the example from this page.
    A sketch of Beck’s cognitive model: beliefs give rise to automatic thoughts in a situation, which shape emotions and behavior. Change the interpretation and the emotion and behavior change with it. Select a part for details
    A sketch of Beck’s cognitive model: beliefs give rise to automatic thoughts in a situation, which shape emotions and behavior. Change the interpretation and the emotion and behavior change with it. Save as image (PNG)

    Key points

    • It grew out of Aaron Beck’s cognitive therapy for depression, set out in a 1979 treatment manual. Modern CBT combines cognitive, behavioral and emotion-focused techniques.[1][2]
    • In Beck’s model, beliefs about the self, the world and the future produce automatic thoughts in specific situations, which then shape emotions and behavior.[2]
    • A course usually runs 5 to 15 sessions with practice in between. The NHS lists it as a recommended treatment for depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders and more.[3]
    • A review covering 106 meta-analyses found the strongest support for anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, bulimia, anger control problems and general stress.[2]

    An example

    Lin posts in a group chat, gets no replies and thinks, “Everyone finds me annoying.” She feels low and stays quiet for days. In CBT she logs the situation, thought, feeling and action on a thought record, looks for other explanations with her therapist, and agrees to ask the group one question next time to see what happens.

    Misreadings and limits

    Well supported does not mean best for everything. The same review found weaker or mixed evidence for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and personality disorders, results often similar to other psychotherapies, and many meta-analyses with small samples or weak control groups.[2]

    Sources

    1. 1 Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. Guilford Press. View source
    2. 2 Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427–440. doi:10.1007/s10608-012-9476-1
    3. 3 NHS (2025). Overview: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). NHS website (last reviewed 28 March 2025). View source

    Last checked against sources: October 26, 2026