Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is actually a general term for many kinds of therapies that have the same basic principles. Some of the more well-known approaches are Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Rational Behavior Therapy, Rational Living Therapy, Cognitive Therapy, and Dialectic Behavior Therapy.

CBT is a not like psychoanalysis, which takes years, it is much briefer and highly structures. It focuses on people asking themselves questions. These questions are often about their beliefs – why do I think I am fat? Why do I think I am ugly? Why do I think I am a failure? – And then in the CBT session, they try to answer these questions. Once they find an answer, they can set their own goals which will help them feel better about themselves. The CBT therapist won’t tell them what these goals should be or how they should be feeling, but once the patients understand what to do in order to change their beliefs and thought patterns, the therapists will help them find out how to do it.

CBT also assigns a lot of homework and assignments, so that patients can remember and practice the techniques they learned at the CBT sessions. CBT also has a fixed time limit – the therapy ends after a set number of sessions, unlike psychoanalysis, which can go on for years,