The Myths and Truths of CBT Therapy
CBT is one of the most prominent and accessible forms of psychotherapy. And although many people may have heard of it, not all understand what exactly CBT is. So, numerous speculations circulate in the broader public about what CBT is, and what it includes, and not all of them are true.
This blog post targets exactly that - the myths and truths about CBT. First, we will debunk some of the most frequent myths before diving into the reality of what CBT is and how it is conducted. So, stay with us.
What is CBT therapy?
Before we dive into the myths and truths of CBT, it’s important to define the basic question: What is CBT therapy?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT for short, is a structured form of psychotherapy that aims to help clients become aware of their automatic thought processes and subsequently, the behavior that those thoughts dictate. The core idea behind CBT is simple and very powerful at the same time. Namely, how we perceive a situation and what meaning we give to it is what we think about that situation. Those thoughts then affect how we feel, and from that, how we act or react. So, by changing our thoughts, we can change our behaviors and improve how we feel emotionally and physically.
CBT is a goal-oriented therapy, helping clients identify and challenge their so-called “cognitive distortions,” i.e, their unhelpful thought patterns. These thought processes are often automatic and go unnoticed, negatively influencing our mood, decisions, and actions. Once identified, CBT works to replace those thoughts with more realistic and balanced thoughts. For example, someone with social anxiety may have the automatic assumption that people judge them. So, they might have persistent anxious feelings, experience physical symptoms like nausea or tension before socially engaging, and avoid social situations altogether, as a way to cope with that perceived reality. CBT can help this person reexamine the validity and accuracy of the thought, helping them reduce the emotional grip that the thought has on them.
Aside from identifying and restructuring thought patterns, CBT also gives tangible help. It equips clients with tools to solve problems, learn new skills, and set and achieve meaningful goals. As the Beck Institute explains, CBT therapists encourage their clients to evaluate their thoughts and practice new skills on their own, thus promoting lasting and ongoing change and empowering clients to move forward in life without needing therapy.
Many traditional talk therapies focus on processing the past and experiences that shaped the individual. Contrary to that, CBT is typically present-focused. Although it does explore past experiences and how they have shaped core beliefs, CBT’s main aim is to give practical strategies that enable clients to manage their current problems, regardless of where they originate from. Aside from talk sessions, CBT also incorporates various techniques and behavioral experiments outside of the therapy room, in the form of “homework.” Those instructions include journaling, thought records, exposure exercises, relaxation training, and rehearsing new habits or actions.
CBT, today, is one of the most frequent types of psychotherapy, helping millions of people around the globe at any given time. It is suitable for all kinds of mental health difficulties and problems, and gives a plethora of benefits for clients who engage in it. If you want to learn more about CBT benefits, you can visit our blog on that particular topic.
The Myths of CBT Therapy
Now, once you understand some of the basics of CBT therapy, it’s time to dive into the CBT myths that are present in the broader public.
Myth: CBT ignores emotions and focuses only on thoughts
Truth: No, CBT doesn’t ignore emotions. The basic premise on which CBT works is that emotions, thoughts, and behavior as deeply interconnected. So, the therapeutic process helps clients understand and regulate them by understanding and addressing the thoughts and behaviors that lead to those emotions. Understanding emotions and learning coping skills is an essential part of CBT.
Myth: CBT is rigid and formulaic
Truth: CBT is a structured type of psychotherapy, but it is far from rigid or formulaic. The techniques, worksheets, and experiments in CBT are evidence-based and often follow a logical process, but they are always adjusted to the client’s particular needs. The process always takes into consideration the client’s context, communication style, age, and personal goals. They are the prime source of information on which the exercises are then formulated and realized.
Myth: CBT is only for people who communicate well verbally
Truth: CBT is a form of talk therapy, but the assumption that only communicative people are suitable for CBT is incorrect. CBT is adaptable, and it can be adjusted to fit clients who find verbal expression challenging. Therapists use drawings, journaling, role-play, or behavior-based methods as a substitute for dry conversing, making CBT accessible and flexible in delivery.
Myth: CBT only treats severe mental illness
Truth: CBT is effective for a wide spectrum of issues, starting with mild stress, self-esteem struggles, or relationship tensions, all the way to diagnosed conditions like anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and eating disorders. A comprehensive review covering 345 articles found that CBT significantly benefits a wide range of mental and even physical health conditions, including chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and more.
CBT is equally relevant and applicable for everyday life challenges and for people who are simply looking to gain more self-awareness or improve their overall life satisfaction and enjoyment.
Myth: CBT only treats symptoms, not root causes
Truth: CBT is problem-focused and goal-oriented, but it doesn’t only look at symptoms. It also addresses underlying core beliefs shaped by past experiences. By reframing these beliefs, individuals can experience long-term emotional resilience, not just symptom relief. Furthermore, CBT equips clients with new thinking patterns, skills, and abilities, helping them make lasting changes in their lives and prompting them to use what they’ve learned in therapy on their own.
Myth: CBT ignores the therapist–client relationship
Truth: A strong therapeutic alliance is foundational for CBT’s effectiveness. Although much of the work in therapy focuses on exploring and improving thoughts, coping skills, and behaviors, a good therapeutic relationship is the base principle that supports any other work. Techniques are only effective when there’s trust, empathy, and collaborative engagement in the therapy process.
The Truths of CBT Therapy
With the biggest CBT myths tackled, now it’s time to underline some of the truths of CBT therapy. In the next part of this blog, let’s explore some of the biggest benefits of CBT therapy.
Truth: CBT is a scientific psychotherapy with numerous studies behind it
CBT is one of the most researched psychotherapies. Studies have consistently shown that CBT is highly effective for a wide range of mental health issues like anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD, insomnia, and many more.
Truth: CBT connects thoughts, emotions, and behaviors
It operates on the idea that how you think affects how you feel and what you do. By changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors, you can shift emotional responses.
Truth: CBT is practical, guided, and skill-focused
CBT, although primarily a talk therapy, is far more than just talking about problems. After defining current difficulties and underlying issues, CBT teaches specific coping skills, problem-solving tools, and strategies that clients can use in real life, outside the therapy room.
With that, it equips them to be able to move forward and use the skills they’ve learned in therapy long after they’ve stopped their regular sessions.
Truth: CBT is present-focused, but can explore deeper beliefs
CBT helps uncover and change core beliefs that may have been shaped by past experiences (e.g., “I’m not good enough”). Nonetheless, the primary focus of CBT is the present, as any deeper beliefs are essentially, causing problems in the present moment. Furthermore, CBT works on the premise that knowing the root of many beliefs or difficulties can be helpful, but its not essential for modifying thoughts in the present moment or learning skills to manage and change behaviors.
Truth: CBT empowers clients with self-awareness and self-efficacy
CBT aims to help people become their own therapists, equipped with tools to handle future challenges long after therapy ends.
Truth: CBT emphasizes active participation
In CBT, clients are not passive recipients to visit an expert and blindly listen to what that expert tells them. Instead, they’re engaged in self-reflection, guided practice, and between-session “homework” like thought records, exposure tasks, or behavior tracking. The therapist and client work together to set goals, test ideas, and evaluate progress. It’s a partnership, not a top-down expert-patient dynamic.
Truth: CBT is not one-size-fits-all
CBT, although it has some basic principles and core techniques, is not unified and the same for each and every client. Instead, there are many forms of CBT depending on the underlying issue (e.g., trauma-focused CBT, CBT for insomnia, exposure and response prevention for OCD, CBT-E for eating disorders). Furthermore, almost all of its techniques and experiments are customizable to different populations, ages, and diagnoses, considering the client’s background, curent abilities, core values, goals, etc.
Truth: CBT is effective across the lifespan and promotes long-term change
It’s been successfully adapted for children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. Each group benefits from age-appropriate tools and approaches. CBT doesn’t just address symptoms. Instead, it teaches clients to change the processes that drive emotional and behavioral distress, thus supporting lasting transformation, not temporary relief.
How to start CBT therapy?
Here at EMDR therapy Nashville, we are dedicated to providing holistic and personalized care for our clients. By combining parts and exercises from a broad spectrum of psychotherapies, CBT included, we make sure that the therapeutic help we provide is tailored to the client’s particular needs and reflects their visions, expectations, and aims.
To start CBT therapy, feel free to reach out and get in touch with us. We provide both in-person and teletherapy, so we are highly accessible for everyone interested in starting CBT therapy.
Conclusion
When done well, CBT is a flexible, structured, evidence-based approach that blends insight with real-world practice. It's not about superficial positivity, nor is it rigid. With a skilled therapist who is a part of an established practice like EMDR therapy in Nashville, psychotherapy is tailored to meet individual challenges. This makes it an accessible and practical tool for both clinical disorders and everyday emotional growth.
Resources
Understanding CBT. Beck Institute. (2025, July 1). https://beckinstitute.org/about/understanding-cbt/
Nakao, M., Shirotsuki, K., & Sugaya, N. (2021, October 3). Cognitive–behavioral therapy for management of mental health and stress-related disorders: Recent advances in techniques and technologies - biopsychosocial medicine. BioMed Central. https://bpsmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13030-021-00219-w