Cognitive therapy doesn't get the respect it deserves! Because the basic premise is deceptively simple (i.e., your thoughts affect your feelings), the therapy is easily mischaracterized and dismissed. Some of the popular, simplified versions of cognitive therapy, widely disseminated in the media, make it sound like a mere set of "cheer-up" techniques (or worse, a mere list of the most common "cognitive distortions"). Particularly in New York City, where the psychoanalytic tradition has a great hold, the common perception is that only psychoanalytic talk therapy is equipped to deal with deep personal issues, and that cognitive therapy is at best a useful technique for an isolated symptom, and at worst, a superficial approach to human suffering. Given my unique perspective (having been trained and practiced in both schools of thought), I feel confident in asserting that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I've been impressed at how cognitive therapy can be a sophisticated, comprehensive way not only to reduce distressing symptoms impeding daily functioning, but also to understand core personal issues, alter longstanding dysfunctional patterns, and create deep and lasting emotional change.