Foundations of CBT

Many clinicians describe their work as including “some CBT.” Yet an eclectic or integrative approach can become so broad that it leaves out the core elements that distinguish cognitive behavioral therapy from supportive counseling or a collection of disconnected coping skills. When clients have previously been told they received CBT but experienced only venting, journaling, breathing exercises, or a few isolated techniques, they may conclude the model does not work for them—even though they were never fully introduced to its collaborative structure and foundational methods.

CBT is not simply positive thinking, nor does it disregard emotions, the therapeutic relationship, past experiences, culture, or complex clinical presentations. Its usefulness depends on helping clients understand how events, thoughts, emotions, actions, and results influence one another; tailoring the approach to the client’s needs, values, preferences, and readiness; and linking interventions to personally meaningful goals. For behavioral health professionals, a clear foundation in the model can support stronger client engagement, more coherent case formulation, and more intentional treatment.

"Foundations of CBT: Theory, Conceptualization, and Standard Interventions" is one of three courses that comprise the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training Certificate (CBTTC). Enroll in the full program and earn 15 total CEs and the CBTTC.

Jeff Riggenbach, PhD, trained at The Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research and has spent more than 20 years developing and directing cognitive-behaviorally based programs for mood, anxiety, addictive behavior, and personality disorders across multiple levels of psychiatric care. He has trained clinicians in all 50 states and nine countries, with a focus on translating CBT research and theory into practical tools for everyday clinical work.

Through didactic teaching, case examples, guided exercises, and humor, Jeff makes foundational and more advanced CBT concepts accessible without reducing the model to a list of techniques. His practical approach connects theory, schemas, case conceptualization, structured sessions, and intervention selection to the decisions clinicians make across treatment settings.

Beginning with five common myths about CBT, the course clarifies what the model is—and is not—before demonstrating how to socialize clients to it in a collaborative, individualized, and hope-building way. You will examine the three levels of cognition, Jeff Young’s 18 early maladaptive schemas, and the ways schemas filter information, become activated, and are reinforced through maintenance, avoidance, and overcompensation. A step-by-step cognitive conceptualization process shows how to connect significant historical experiences with present-day triggers, thoughts, emotions, actions, and outcomes, creating a client-specific “roadmap to recovery” that can guide treatment goals, session agendas, intervention choices, and documentation. Practical transdiagnostic strategies include mindfulness and time-limited distraction, cognitive restructuring and distortion-based questioning, activity monitoring and scheduling, and behavioral experiments, all within a broader framework that recognizes the importance of the therapeutic alliance, environmental context, homework, relapse prevention, and booster sessions.

Key Takeaways

• Client Socialization and Buy-In: Use an adaptable psychoeducational process to help clients understand the model, recognize areas of choice, and participate more actively in treatment.
• Collaborative Case Conceptualization: Build a client-specific roadmap connecting historical experiences, beliefs, triggers, thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and outcomes to guide treatment.
• Practical CBT Interventions: Apply cognitive and behavioral strategies for identifying distortions, shifting attention, testing beliefs, and increasing helpful activity.

Why This Course?

• Strengthen the Foundations: Move beyond isolated techniques or a watered-down “some CBT” approach by understanding the structure and reasoning that make interventions coherent.
• Improve Clinical Direction: Use conceptualization to organize complex information, identify recurring patterns, and choose interventions linked to client goals rather than entering sessions without a clear map.
• Learn From Applied Experience: Gain a practical perspective from an instructor who has implemented CBT across multiple levels of care and trained clinicians nationally and internationally.

Learning Objectives:

• Compare 5 myths associated with CBT with actual theory and outcomes.
• Describe a step-by-step method of socialization to the cognitive model in a way that elicits client buy-in and decreases dropout rates.
• List the 3 levels of cognition addressed in CBT.
• Identify 18 early maladaptive schemas and explain their role in client information processing.
• Utilize 3 behavioral and 3 cognitive interventions common in CBT practice.

Enroll today to strengthen the foundations behind competent CBT practice and gain a clearer, more collaborative way to explain the model, conceptualize cases, and select practical interventions across clinical settings and levels of care.