Cognitive behavioral therapy combines which approaches?

Cognitive behavioral therapy combines which approaches?

• A. Psychoanalysis and cognitive therapy
• B. Mindfulness and acceptance
• C. Cognitive therapy and behavior therapy
• D. Exposure therapy and pharmacotherapy

Answer: (C)

CBT blends two practical strands: cognitive therapy and behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy focuses on identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts and beliefs that fuel distress, helping people see distortions and replace them with more accurate interpretations. Behavior therapy concentrates on changing what a person does through learning-based strategies like gradual exposure, reinforcement, and skills practice. In CBT, these approaches work together—changing thoughts can reduce emotional distress and alter behaviors, while changing behaviors can provide evidence that new ways of thinking are possible. This collaborative, structured, and typically short-term process often includes homework to apply skills outside sessions. The other pairings mix in psychodynamic ideas, mindfulness/acceptance frameworks, or pharmacology, which aren’t the standard combination that defines cognitive behavioral therapy.

CBT blends two practical strands: cognitive therapy and behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy focuses on identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts and beliefs that fuel distress, helping people see distortions and replace them with more accurate interpretations. Behavior therapy concentrates on changing what a person does through learning-based strategies like gradual exposure, reinforcement, and skills practice. In CBT, these approaches work together—changing thoughts can reduce emotional distress and alter behaviors, while changing behaviors can provide evidence that new ways of thinking are possible. This collaborative, structured, and typically short-term process often includes homework to apply skills outside sessions. The other pairings mix in psychodynamic ideas, mindfulness/acceptance frameworks, or pharmacology, which aren’t the standard combination that defines cognitive behavioral therapy.