Part of CBT therapy is about identifying and exploring negative thoughts, but this does not mean that CBT allows you to turn on a switch and just think ‘positively’. If that were the case, there would be no need for actual therapy. 

CBT helps people develop flexible and helpful ways of thinking and to understand specific thought patterns they have that contribute to their mental health issue. 

CBT addresses the current problem, but this does not mean an individual's past is not explored.

Therapy aims to discuss how a client is currently feeling and how to move forward towards recovery.

When necessary, a therapist will delve into someone's past, as the issue at hand could be significantly linked to past experiences or behaviours and may need to be discovered to aid recovery.

For people to get better, they need to understand themselves well. They need to know why they are feeling a particular emotion or carrying out a certain behaviour.

CBT therapy allows individuals to discover core beliefs that influence them in the present. 

Exploring the way our brains work, our reactions and how we cope with things in life, are all learnings from CBT therapy that can assist us throughout our lives. 

Once we understand what has happened to us to learn unhelpful behaviours or beliefs the CBT therapist will focus and address what can be done about it.