Background The theory of cognitive therapy resonates with me because of my personal belief in the power of the mind. It is my opinion that without the process of changing mindset, behaviors will not change. The mind has control over every single action and tells your entire being how to respond in every single situation. As stated in the Corey (2009) text, I believe that people with emotional difficulties often times tend to “commit characteristic logical errors that tilt objective reality in the direction of self-deprecation” (p. 288). Through my own therapy experience I came to understand the connection between my thinking, my feelings and my actions. I learned to identify distorted thinking, engage in realistic thinking, and to employ problem-solving and coping skills. This method helped me through my own difficult times and therefore I know it works and would like to help others through its use. View of Human Nature

People possess faulty beliefs and maladaptive information processing (automatic thoughts) which can lead to cognitive distortions and depression (Chadwick, 1994). In cognitive therapy clients learn to identify these distorted cognitions through evaluation. Corey states (2009) that once clients gain insight into how these unrealistically negative thoughts affect them, their feelings, and behaviors; they can begin to “use their automatic thoughts to reach the core schemata and then begin to introduce the idea of schema restructuring” thus easing the depression (p. 288).

Key Tenets Cognitive therapy is based on three tenets: (1) you feel the way you think, (2) thoughts are dominated by a pervasive negativity, and (3) negative thoughts related to depression are almost always irrational and distorted. Therapy includes the recognition and identification of these negative thoughts (automatic thoughts) and the type of