Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Mental Health Benefits Of CBT Therapy And Behavior Therapy

Medically reviewed by Andrea Brant, LMHC and Majesty Purvis, LCMHC

Updated November 17th, 2025 by BetterHelp Editorial Team

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common type of psychological therapy often used to treat anxiety disorders as well as depression that may be present in your daily life. According to scientific research studies, cognitive behavioral therapy is as effective in the treatment of depression as antidepressants and psychiatric medications.

An optimal treatment plan for many conditions is often psychiatric medication in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy, including online therapy. However, this is context-dependent. If a person is living with anxiety and feels that they don't need medication, CBT counseling is a great place for that individual to start and may result in changes in behavioral patterns over a relatively short period of time.

Understanding cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): A short, structured therapy approach to mitigate therapeutic risks

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a short and structured approach for therapy. The focus of cognitive behavioral treatment is on helping gain insight and understandinginto your thoughts, thought patterns, and behavioral patterns. Our thoughts can significantly impact our moods or result in negative feelings, and cognitive behavioral interventions can address negative thinking patterns that may contribute to mental health issues. With the coping techniques of behavior therapy, you have the power to change your feelings as well as any unhelpful behavior.

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What is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), like cognitive processing therapy, is a type of psychological therapy that teaches people or a person about distortions and thought patterns. Often, clinical practice clients are unaware of these unhealthy patterns of thinking until they learn about how they impact their lives in a negative way, and at that point, they can change the way they think about things through online therapy CBT with licensed CBT therapists.

Benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

What does CBT stand for? Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a form of talk therapy with several core principles that aim to improve negative thoughts, behavior patterns, and mental health. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be an effective tool to treat anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, mood disorders like bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and psychological distress.

The benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) include new coping skills, relaxation techniques, problem-solving skills, stress management, emotional control, and improvement of symptoms from mental health disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can lead to both short-term and long-term benefits for mental health. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help people manage mental health challenges effectively.

What mental health conditions can cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treat?

Cognitive behavioral therapy has been supported by clinical psychology, peer-reviewed studies, and clinical trials. Many studies and clinical trials show that psychological treatment with cognitive behavioral therapy can be helpful in treating many mental health conditions, contributing to symptom reduction in various psychiatric disorders.

CBT treatments can help individuals manage the following conditions and disorders, and in some cases, may complement other approaches like psychosexual therapy.

panic disorder
bipolar disorder
obsessive-compulsive disorder
post-traumatic stress disorder
personality disorders
eating disorders
substance use disorder
anxiety disorders
certain physical health challenges, such as irritable bowel syndrome and insomnia
other mental illness can benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy

Beyond these examples, CBT may also help reduce ADHD symptoms and symptoms of mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder. People struggling with everyday challenges and life transitions, such as marriage, parenthood, grief, relocation, and work challenges may also benefit from CBT.

How does CBT therapy work? A medical understanding

In your first cognitive behavioral therapy session with a CBT-licensed mental health professional or therapist, you will learn that cognitive behavior therapy has several core principles and works by addressing unhelpful behavior and thinking patterns that may contribute to negative emotions and worsen the symptoms of mental illness.

When they practice CBT, your therapist helps you to identify these unhelpful patterns and replace them with more helpful ones. This strategy, combined with constructive coping mechanisms, can help create lasting behavioral change, make stressful situations easier to manage, and reduce the symptoms of multiple mental health conditions.

One of the thinking patterns that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and talk therapy aims to manage is cognitive distortions. Read further to see if you personally experience some of the other forms of distortions and could benefit from psychological treatment using cognitive therapy:

Filtering: Impact of cognitive distortions

This means that you take the negative details and magnify them. Then you ignore the positive attributes of a situation. For example, a person could focus on one negative thing and ruminate on it. Then their perspective of the situation is distorted in a negative light.

"Black and white" thinking: Connection to anxiety disorders, depression, stress, and more

In this distortion, you see things as "black or white." There are no shades of gray or middle ground. Either you are perfect or you are a complete failure. There is no in-between, and we know that this is inaccurate in life. Psychological issues like stress, anxiety, and depression may manifest as a result of this distortion.

Overgeneralization

This means that you are concluding something based on one thing that happened. Just because something occurs one time, it doesn't mean it will happen every subsequent time. This is an overgeneralization, and it can be destructive to your thinking and mental health; it can also lead to relationship issues, marital problems, and other psychological problems.

Jumping to conclusions or mind-reading

You cannot know what another person is thinking. In this distortion, you are jumping to a conclusion, because of your emotional reaction to another person. It's better to ask that person how they feel rather than assume it.

Catastrophizing

This means that you imagine a terrible scenario where a horrible thing happens based on a tiny detail. For example, if your friend or one of your family members doesn't call you back, you might assume that they hate you or that something horrible happened to them.

Personalization

Personalization means that you believe that it is about you. An event occurs and you are convinced that it was because of you. Based on your beliefs, someone's negative response means that you did something wrong. In reality, there are a number of factors at play here and it's not necessarily all about you. These types of thoughts can contribute to low self-esteem and other concerns.

Control fallacies

You see yourself as helpless and a victim of fate. There is nothing you can do to change your life because it is predetermined and hence you are doomed. This is inaccurate, and you do have the power to make decisions and advocate for yourself.

Fallacy of fairness

Life isn't fair; we've heard this time and time again. However, lamenting about how you are being treated unfairly and that there is a vast conspiracy against you is also an exaggeration. This kind of thinking can also be a detriment to your emotional health. Balance in life can happen, and it’s important to recognize that.

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Blaming

It's important to take responsibility and be accountable for your actions. If you feel a certain way, it isn't because of someone else. They could have said something that hurt your feelings, but they didn't "make you feel that way." It's not productive to tell someone "You made me feel bad." What's more productive is to say, "I feel hurt when you say ___." Use your I-statements and you will avoid this distortion.

Should statements

Have you ever heard the saying "stop should-ing all over yourself"? When we say "I should do ___," it induces guilt and shame in us. There is no need to say, "I should be" or "I ought to" because there is no rule book for life. You are free to make your own decisions about what’s best for you, and cognitive behavioral techniques can help reinforce this.

Emotional reasoning

You feel a certain way and have certain core principles; therefore, it must be the truth. Feelings are not the ultimate indicator of what is logically true. You could feel that someone is angry with you, but until you check in with them and ask, you won't know the truth. Behavioral techniques can help with this reasoning.

Fallacy of change

We believe that we have the power to change other people if we cajole them enough. This isn't true. A person will change, if they want to, on their own time. Just a few sessions with the right therapist can help individuals address this distortion and other forms of flawed thinking.

Labeling

"I'm a failure," "I'm a bad friend," "I am stupid." These are all examples of labeling. It's unhelpful to call yourself names. You are a human being with a multitude of qualities, but you are not one thing. We all have flaws, but we are not exclusively identified by them.

Always being right

Nobody is right all the time. In fact, there is no right and wrong in a given argument. There are subjectivity and different people's perspectives. You have your opinion and I have mine. We could be looking at the same shade of green and you think it's blue, while I insist that it's green. No one is right in this situation. It's a matter of opinion.

Heaven's reward fallacy

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We believe that if we do the right thing in situations throughout life, we will be rewarded somehow in life. This isn't always the truth. Bad things happen to good people and vice versa. There is no one keeping score, and we do the best that we can in our lives.

Behavioral techniques and interventions used in CBT

A CBT therapist helps patients recognize and overcome distortions like the ones listed above, practice positive behaviors, and build problem-solving skills they can apply in their daily lives. Over the course of cognitive behavior therapy treatment, they may use various mental and behavioral interventions, such as

Reframing: Reframing involves changing negative thoughts to more constructive ones. For example, instead of telling yourself, “My last relationship ended so I’ll never find love,” you might tell yourself, “That relationship may not have been the right fit, but the right person for me is out there.”

Behavioral activation: This technique involves having patients do activities they enjoy, even when they lack motivation, based on the idea that just initiating the activity may help make it enjoyable. Behavioral activation may be especially helpful for managing symptoms of depression.

Journaling: CBT often involves “homework” in the form of worksheets or journaling prompts. These are intended to help patients build a deeper understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and responses to stressful situations. Building this awareness may help patients recognize distortions in their everyday thinking.

The role of mindfulness in CBT

Some therapists may also incorporate mindfulness meditation training into their cognitive behavioral therapy practice. Mindfulness involves passively observing experiences, thoughts, and feelings as they arise, without judgment, while attempting to stay present in the moment. Mindfulness may help improve stress management, reduce negative emotions, promote symptom reduction in conditions like anxiety and depression, and improve patients’ emotional regulation.

How CBT works in different settings

CBT may be practiced in either individual therapy sessions or group therapy sessions. From a clinical perspective, group CBT works similarly to individual CBT, in that mental healthcare providers help participants identify and shift unhelpful thought patterns. There may be less one-on-one guidance in group settings. Participants may be encouraged to practice techniques as a group, discuss their experiences with one another, and offer support and encouragement to one another.

Studies show positive clinical implications of group CBT. For instance, in a 2025 study, researchers found that brief CBT in a group setting effectively reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety while improving self-esteem and mental health.

Benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy

Learning cognitive behavioral therapy techniques during sessions with your therapist in treatment, including cognitive distortions and thought records is extraordinarily helpful for people with anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or other types of mental illness. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a treatment-based solution that provides insight and understanding into our emotional challenges and can better our lives with the development of coping skills, positive behaviors, problem-solving skills, and pathways to healthier thinking. Beyond their mental health applications, the behavior management techniques patients develop in cognitive-behavioral therapy may also be applied to everyday challenges, such as stressful situations at work and conflicts in relationships.

What to expect from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions: Emotional care with a therapist and cognitive therapy techniques to treat behavioral challenges

A cognitive behavioral therapist helps patients using cognitive behavior therapy. However, even if they primarily practice CBT, they may combine it with other forms of treatments like exposure therapy or dialectical behavior therapy, to address psychological problems in therapy sessions. They may also give you additional tools for behavior management, coping skills for managing stressors, and suggestions on how to implement their advice in your daily life. Depending on the therapist, this sometimes involves homework, such as journaling, to help you build emotional awareness and practice shifting unhelpful thoughts.

When you have your first therapy session, your therapist will likely start by asking you about your life, background, current concerns, and whether there are any specific mental health concerns you hope to address. They may also help you identify individualized treatmentgoals to work toward. Understanding your unique needs can help your therapist find the right combination of treatments for your situation.

69%

of BetterHelp clients use
one or more self care & clinical tools

Source: State of Stigma Report, May 2025

Most used tools

Worksheets

Goal & habit tracking

Journal

Support groups

Classes

How CBT therapy can help treat anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other mental health conditions

Cognitive-behavioral therapy has a wide range of clinical implications. The clinical practice of many therapists is used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and an array of other psychological problems. CBT techniques may even help reduce symptoms of chronic pain by helping to regulate the central nervous system. CBT sessions use clinical psychology-approved cognitive therapy techniques to teach coping mechanisms to people learning to manage a mental illness. Through cognitive behavioral therapy examples, a psychologist may prescribe medications to enhance treatment in rare cases.

Clinical trials and studies have found that CBT can lead to a significant improvement in mental health symptoms. A systematic review from 2024 found that CBT led to significant symptom reduction in individuals with depression, while another analysis from 2020 found that CBT led to improved outcomes for patients with anxiety disorders. A 2018 study of patients with PTSD and depression found that CBT led to increased brain activity in multiple brain regions involved in attention, planning, and goal-setting.

CBT and coexisting conditions

Cognitive-behavior therapy may also have clinical implications for people with multiple mental health conditions at once. Because certain mental illnesses often co-occur—for instance, depression and anxiety disorders—treating one with CBT may sometimes help reduce symptoms of the other, and may provide coping skills that can be applied to both.

That said, this can depend on the exact combination of conditions. Furthermore, certain other psychiatric disorders, including some personality disorders, may respond better to other types of therapy. For instance, although borderline personality disorder (BPD) can often co-occur with depression, BPD may be best treated with dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT.

Online cognitive behavioral therapy

Being an active participant in your own psychological treatment will ensure that you get the most out of cognitive behavioral therapy. The success of your treatment will depend on how many sessions you attend, and how much you apply yourself.

Benefits of online cognitive behavioral (CBT) therapy for mental health: Managing substance use disorder and addiction, bipolar and eating disorders, mindfulness, and more

There are many cognitive behavioral therapists at BetterHelp who can teach you valuable skills in recognizing your own cognitive distortions and how to change them through online therapy sessions. Even if you don’t have health insurance, talk therapy can be affordable and may help you deal with behavioral responses that impact your mental health.

Online CBT support for OCD, substance use disorders, prevention and help with addiction treatments, and other mental health conditions

BetterHelp has an arsenal of therapy resources and registered therapists that you can tap with, for support if you have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Try virtual therapy and match yourself with a therapist.

We are working with select insurance carriers to join their network. Some therapists on the BetterHelp platform now accept insurance (state-limited). Until then, our flexible subscription model continues to be an option to receive quality care from our extensive therapist network.

BetterHelp currently accepts HSA/FSA cards and is recognized as an eligible expense by most HSA/FSA providers. Get started today.

Choosing the right CBT approach for your mental health needs

You may opt for short-term therapy or for a longer-term therapeutic approach; in either case, you can find a healthcare provider to help you gain a better understanding of your emotions, thought distortions, and any particular situation you need assistance with. Below you’ll find some reviews from others who have recently focused on cognitive behavioral therapy with BetterHelp counselors.

Therapist reviews

“Kelsey is warm, responsive, and flexible in working with her clients' needs. I'm primarily doing cognitive behavioral therapy with her to change some distressing behaviors, and her support and concrete actions have guided me well.”

“Jackie consistently guides and supports my progress, while creatively challenging my cognitive distortions. I feel super fortunate to have Jackie as an intelligent and compassionate counselor who lifts my eyes up and into focus.”

Takeaway

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help treat mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Mental healthcare providers who practice CBT use a variety of mental and behavioral interventions to help patients change their relationship with their thoughts and feelings. If you are still struggling with thought and behavioral issues in your own life, you might want to find a therapist who specializes in CBT. This may help you improve your stress management, as well as develop positive coping skills and improve your overall well-being. Although these therapists can’t typically prescribe medications, CBT may lead to symptom reduction in your mental health concerns and help you to acquire skills to cope. To make the therapy process easier for you, meeting with an online therapist is an option for CBT. You can just quickly search for "cognitive behavioral therapist near me" online to get the options that you have. This way, you can meet for CBT where it’s most comfortable for you and at a time that works best for you.

Frequently asked questions

Read more below for answers to questions commonly asked about this topic.

What do you do during cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with a mental health professional or clinical therapist?

Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on helping patients identify negative, unhelpful ways of thinking and dysfunctional emotions so they can be replaced with positive and productive thoughts. Therapists may also use role-playing to help patients learn coping strategies in a safe and controlled situation. Cognitive behavioral therapy is designed to be a short-term treatment, lasting anywhere from a few sessions to a few months. During the first few sessions, you typically build a relationship with your therapist and work together to determine the goals of your treatment. Then, you learn coping strategies and techniques to address your goals and improve your mental health, such as cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, and relaxation techniques. During this, your therapist may assess progress by monitoring whether there are any improvements to your symptoms and learned patterns of unhelpful behaviors.

Can I do CBT as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder on my own or is a doctor helpful for mitigating risks and tackling issues?

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one of the goals of cognitive behavioral therapy is to “become your own therapist.” Many of the cognitive strategies and behavioral techniques utilized in cognitive behavioral therapy can be implemented by an individual who isn’t under the guidance of a therapist. For example, you may be able to independently:

Use cognitive behavior therapy techniques to determine how your thoughts and emotions are impacting your actions
Use cognitive behavior therapy techniques to identify biased thoughts and replace them with more rational thinking
Use cognitive behavior therapy techniques to expose yourself to difficult situations that cause you fear and anxiety in order to build your tolerance

If you feel unable to implement these therapeutic strategies on your own, you might consider connecting with cognitive behavior therapists to choose a therapist who’s a good fit for you.

How do I know if I need cognitive behavioral therapy for my mental health or to understand feelings and emotions?

Cognitive behavioral therapy can be beneficial for a wide array of people and challenging situations, even those who are not experiencing a mental health condition such as major depressive disorder or an anxiety disorder. However, you may especially benefit from the cognitive therapy and behavioral treatments associated with the cognitive-behavioral model of therapy if any of the following resonate:

behavior therapy can help those who experience high levels of fear and anxiety compared to others around them when faced with difficult situations
cognitive behavioral therapy techniques can help those who have difficulties managing stress
behavioral therapy and cognitive restructuring can help if you notice you constantly engage in negative self-talk

Cognitive behavioral therapy treatment may also be beneficial for someone who is uninterested or unable to take medication, such as antidepressant medication, in order to treat any mental disorders. CBT for anxiety, CBT for children, behavioral therapy for depression, behavioral therapy for insomnia and other specific CBT techniques may benefit a variety of people through cognitive restructuring. If CBT techniques don't feel like the best approach to support your mental health, you may consider other treatments with a therapist such as psychodynamic psychotherapy, therapy for depression specifically, or interpersonal psychotherapy.

What are examples of cognitive learning?

Cognitive learning occurs when you implement strategies to maximize your brain’s efficiency and learn as much as possible. For example, you may take a cognitive approach to learning something new through experiential learning. Instead of reading instructions or watching a tutorial, you would develop the skill through first-hand experience.

Is CBT good for anxiety, anxious feelings, and other mental health conditions or issues? Understanding the clinical benefit for stress recovery and other disorders

CBT treatment is often considered the gold standard for treating anxiety. Many studies have proven it effective in treating various forms of anxiety including social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and agoraphobia. A systematic review of research found that CBT helps patients with other psychological disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder and mood disorders such as bipolar disorder.

What are the basic principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)?

One of the central ideas associated with CBT is that your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected and influence one another. These three factors are the three principles that CBT is designed to target.

What is considered a cognitive behavior disability? A guide to understanding diagnosis from a clinic or medical group

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a medical condition that may be considered a cognitive/behavioral disability. CBT may be used to treat individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome and has been proven to more effectively reduce symptoms of fatigue compared to other therapies.

What is the meaning of “cognitive-behavioral” as a theory and how does it relate to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)?

Cognitive behavioral is a type of cognitive theory that explains how our thoughts and behaviors interact with each other. It’s often used in the context of cognitive behavioral therapy, which is a therapy model designed to help people identify the connection between their thoughts and actions so they can address emotional and psychological problems in their lives.

What is an example of a cognitive behavior in adults and how does CBT therapy help?

In cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive behaviors may also be known as cognitive distortions. One common example is catastrophizing, which involves expecting something bad to happen in response to a minor issue or mistake. For example, you might catastrophize when you make a small mistake at work and believe you will be fired because of it. In CBT treatment, your therapist will help you replace this with healthy thought patterns and provide strategies to help you manage learned patterns of catastrophic thinking that you may have in the future.

What is an example of a technique a CBT therapist would use in CBT therapy for adults with an anxiety diagnosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other mental health conditions?

This type of therapy utilizes several different CBT techniques during the course of treatment. One of the most popular cognitive behavioral techniques is journaling. Patients may be asked to write down their negative or anxious thoughts and then follow each one with a positive, productive thought that could replace it throughout therapy for anxiety or depression. Therapy for anxiety and therapy for depression utilizes a variety of techniques depending on individual need.