American psychiatrist, Aaron Beck, developed a form of psychotherapy in the 1960s and 1970s that he originally named “Cognitive Therapy”, a term that is often used synonymously with “Cognitive Behaviour Therapy”. Beck devised a structured, short-term, present-oriented psychotherapy for depression. Since that time, he and others around the world have successfully adapted this therapy to a surprisingly diverse set of populations with a wide range of disorders and problems, in many settings and formats.  In a nutshell, the cognitive behavioural therapy model proposes that dysfunctional thinking (which influences the individual’s mood and behaviour) is common to all psychological disturbances. When people learn to evaluate their thinking more realistically and adaptively, they experience a decrease in negative emotions and maladaptive behaviour.  In traditional CBT, the therapist would likely help an individual examine the validity of their thoughts which may lead to the conclusion that the thought was overgeneralized and the individual would realize that he/she still does many things well, despite the depression. Looking at their experience from this new perspective would probably decrease the dysphoria and may engage in more functional behaviour. Cognitions (both adaptive and maladaptive) occur at three levels Automatic thoughts are at the most superficial level. The next is the intermediate beliefs such as underlying assumptions. And at the deepest level are your core beliefs about yourself, others, and the world. For lasting improvement in an individual’s mood, the therapist will work at all three levels. Modifying both automatic thoughts and underlying dysfunctional beliefs produces enduring change.