CBT has been the subject of extensive scientific testing and has been found to be highly effective for a number of mental disorders, including depression. Nobody really understands exactly how CBT works to alleviate depression.

However, new brain research shows that certain areas of the brain are significantly altered as a result of CBT treatment. It has appeal among both clinical practitioners and patients for three important reasons: It's specific, it's focused, and it's immediate.

Specific

When you're depressed, your thoughts can be muddled and incorrect. Since your thoughts control your behaviors, they may also be inappropriate or ineffective. Breaking out of this vicious loop is essential to managing depression. According to Albert Ellis, there are three components to this distorted kind of thinking:

1. I must do well.

2. You must treat me well.

3. The world must be easy.

CBT works to change this. First, you learn to recognize that your thinking is distorted. You can't always do well. People won't always treat you well. And, finally, the world is a far from easy place. Then you learn how to change these cognitive distortions into rational thought patterns, which allow you to act in healthy ways.

Focused

Problem solving is at the heart of CBT. You may have had an unhappy childhood, issues with parents, or other longstanding concerns, but the problems you're dealing with are in the here and now. While CBT understands the importance of your past, it focuses on solving present-day problems by giving you coping strategies and a plan for managing your life — now.

What symptoms are you experiencing that are causing you distress? What will you need to accomplish in order to alleviate your depression? This is the focus of CBT. You'll set goals and develop problem-solving strategies to allow you to meet those goals in a timely fashion.

Immediate

In dealing with depression, especially severe cases of depression where suicidal thoughts have created a crisis situation, therapy needs to get to the heart of the problem quickly and provide relief immediately. This immediacy is important in other situations as well; for example, in addressing depressive issues for children and adolescents.

Getting well, as quickly as possible, is the goal. And in today's medical climate of HMO-managed care and spiraling costs of medical insurance, there really isn't time for anyone to engage in lengthy, open-ended therapy. This is where CBT fills the bill.