It goes back to the works of A. Beck and relies on ideas about the decisive role of thinking, cognitive (cognitive) processes in the origin of disorders. Like the psychodynamic approach, he addresses the implicit, hidden causes of disorders and, like the behavioral approach, to maladaptive behavioral stereotypes. But the focus of this approach is not on the dynamics of the main mental forces and experiences and not on stimulus-reactive chains, but on thought patterns: any response to external circumstances is mediated by the internal organization of mental processes, thought patterns. The failure of these patterns triggers «negative cognitive circuits», which is fundamentally comparable to programming errors and viral distortions of computer programs.
Various schools within this approach emphasize the importance of individual cognitive styles, cognitive complexity, cognitive balance, cognitive dissonance, etc. The goals and objectives of psychotherapy are focused on the «reprogramming» of thinking and cognitive processes as a mechanism for the emergence of problems and the formation of symptoms. The range of methods is very wide — from rational psychotherapy according to P. Dubois to rational-emotive psychotherapy by A. Ellis. Like the behavioral approach, the cognitive approach is based on the directive position of the therapist.