Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a way of talking about how you think about yourself, the world and other people and how what you do affects your thoughts and feelings. It can help you to change the way you think (‘cognitive’) and what you do (‘behaviour’). These changes can help you to feel better. Unlike some of the other talking treatments, it focuses on the ‘here and now’ problems and difficulties. Instead of focusing on the causes of your distress or symptoms in the past, it looks for ways to improve your state of mind now.