Therefore, cognitive behavioral therapies are considered to be developed to address specific contents in mind, meaning they are “disorder specific” . Therapeutic approach In order to work effectively, cognitive-behavioral therapies, as the term indicates, combine cognitive and behavioral strategies to help people in psychological distress. The cognitive part of therapy helps the affected person become aware of the distortions in their thoughts that cause psychological distress, while the behavioral part helps the affected person realize the patterns used to reinforce and treat them. The Most Important Aspect of Cognitive Therapy As originally formulated by Dr. Beck over three decades ago, thoughts act as an intermediary between stimuli, such as external events and emotions. According to the illustration in the figure below, it is a stimulus that provokes a thought, which could be an evaluative decision of some kind which, in turn, results in a decision.