Cognitive processes in CBT

Automatic cognitive processing helps us navigate the world. However, if the emotional and cognitive interplay becomes skewed, those cognitive processes can become maladaptive and result in psychopathology. Although biases are present in most mental disorders, different disorders are characterized by biased processing in different cognitive domains, e.g., attention is changed in anxiety and memory in depression. Psychological treatments can indirectly (i.e., cognitive behavioral therapy) or directly (e.g., cognitive bias modification; mindfulness; metacognitive therapy) change biased cognitive processes. The fast majority of studies on cognitive processes and therapy are done in anxiety and depression, and to a lesser extent in addiction. There is evidence that (1) psychological treatments change cognitive processing styles and (2) that this change is a working mechanism of the different treatments. The specific type of cognitive process targeted does differ across treatment type, but we do not know at this point whether the change in one cognitive process generalizes to other cognitive processes. Maybe it is not enough to target just one bias. A better understanding of the processes involved in psychological treatments and their interaction with emotion, personality or the environmental context will help improve therapeutic interventions