Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a therapy that focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (e.g. thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes) and behaviors, improving emotional regulation and the development of personal coping strategies that target solving current problems. Originally, it was designed to treat depression, but its uses have been expanded to include treatment of a number of mental health conditions, including anxiety, couple problems, and eating disorders.
CBT techniques are used to help people challenge their patterns and beliefs and replace errors in thinking, known as COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS such as “overgeneralizing, magnifying negatives, minimizing positives and catastrophizing” with “more realistic and effective thoughts, thus decreasing emotional distress and self-defeating behavior”.