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Cognitive therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the role of thoughts in causing emotional distress and maladaptive behaviors.

It aims to change feelings and behaviors by altering distorted thought patterns.

Developed by Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s, cognitive therapy initially targeted depression.

Cognitive therapies assume people can control their emotions, as thoughts shape feelings.

Cognitive restructuring is a core element of this therapy, where clients, with the therapist's guidance, learn to identify logical errors in their thinking and challenge the validity of automatic thoughts.

This process involves replacing negative thoughts with more rational and positive ones.

For example, a client thinking, "One mistake at work will cost me my job," might replace it with, "Everyone makes mistakes; one error doesn't threaten my job."

Unlike psychoanalytic therapies, cognitive therapy focuses on overt symptoms such as depression or self-critical thoughts rather than unconscious processes.

It also differs from humanistic approaches by using structured techniques like identifying distortions, challenging beliefs, and reframing thoughts.