Thus, cognitive therapists often combine cognitive and behavioral techniques in clinical practice. Cognitive therapy is the most heavily researched form of psychotherapy. Multiple well controlled outcome studies have shown cognitive therapy to be an effective treatment for depression. Also, cognitive therapy has been found to be a particularly useful intervention for panic disorder and social phobia. Other conditions for which cognitive therapy has been proven useful include psychophysiological disorders, bulimia, and cocaine abuse.
Therapists are more active than in many other types of treatment for emotional disorders.
A strong therapeutic relationship is encouraged between clinician and patient. In the early phase of cognitive therapy, emphasis is placed on establishing a good working relationship and on teaching the patient the basic principles of this treatment approach. Usually, examples from the patient's current life situation are used to demonstrate the effects of automatic thoughts and cognitive errors. Homework assignments are used from the beginning of treatment to reinforce learning and to encourage behavioral change. The middle portion of therapy is devoted to modifying dysfunctional patterns of information processing and behavior.