CBT is based on the premise that our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are linked and many of our difficulties or troubles are related to the way we interpret different situations.

CBT helps people identify their negative thoughts, distressing feelings and unhelpful behaviours. CBT can help you evaluate how realistic the thoughts are, help you change your thinking, tolerate distressing feelings more helpfully and change our behaviour.

When we think more realistically, when we have more skills to tolerate our distressing feelings and when we have a range of helpful behaviours to use, we tend to feel better.

What does CBT involve?

CBT generally involves the following concepts:

pragmatic – it helps identify specific problems and tries to solve them highly structured – rather than talking freely about your life, you and your therapist discuss specific problems and set goals for you to achieve focused on current problems – it's mainly concerned with how you think and act now rather than attempting to resolve past issues collaborative – your therapist won't tell you what to do; they'll work with you to find solutions to your current difficulties. CBT is a team sport! CBT can also include your family/whānau, friends and other support people (with your permission).

There is a strong emphasis on homework- tasks to practice during the week that you and your therapist decide on together. You will only have a few hours of therapy compared to the many hours you have in the rest of your life. Research has demonstrated that clients who make sure they practice their therapy homework do significantly better in therapy. 

CBT has evidence for effectively treating Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Sleep issues, Pain, Stress, Addictions, Personality issues, and many other issues.

References:

https://www.beckinstitute.org/get-informed/cbt-faqs/

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cognitive-behavioural-therapy/Pages/How-does-it-wo