The Science of Cognitive Therapy

Cognitive therapy (CT) refers to a family of interventions and a general scientific approach to psychological disorders. This family has evolved from a specific treatment model into a scientific approach that incorporates a wide variety of disorder-specific interventions and treatment techniques. The goal of this article is to describe the scientific approach of CT, review the efficacy and validity of the CT model, and exemplify important differences and commonalities of the CT approaches based on two specific disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder and health anxiety.

► Cognitive therapy refers to a family of interventions. ► The core model assumes that cognitions causally influence emotions and behaviors. ► The model is supported by treatment studies and recent neurobiological studies. ► We discuss the cognitive models of PTSD and health anxiety as two specific examples.