Cognitive-behavioural therapy or just CBT is the most widely used psychological therapy around. It is the talking therapy when it comes to helping people with clinical conditions such as anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and many other types of mental health difficulties people might face in their lives.
CBT is really not only one type of therapy, rather it is an umbrella term for a large collection of psychotherapy techniques which have proved very effective in helping people overcome psychological conditions. CBT arose from psychoanalysis (think of Freud and the couch) when a guy called Aaron Beck realised that there was a parallel process in therapy which patients did not readily share with the therapist. This process consisted of a inner commentator who would comment on what went on the the therapy session without sharing these experiences with the therapist. Common 'inner dialogue' comments include: 'he must think I am so boring' or 'he doesn't like me' or 'does he even listen to what I am saying, has he fallen asleep!?' which patients would not disclose during ordinary sessions, but Beck started asking patients to share directly.