Key figures — Albert Ellis, Aaron Beck

Theory — Maladaptive behavior is associated with patterns of thinking and response which do not result in mentally healthy outcomes.

Treatment — The goal of cognitive-behavioral therapy is to change or substitute these patterns with more realistic and useful thoughts and responses.

Relevance — It is used to treat depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, specific phobias, and other mental disorders. Medication is often used in conjunction with this approach to treat depressive disorders and bipolar and related disorders. Schools of psychotherapy associated with this discipline are rational emotive behavior therapy, rational living therapy, and dialectic behavior therapy.