"So what is this, some kind of superficial 'cheer up' therapy, where I'm just supposed to look at the bright side?," you ask. "Where do these negative automatic thoughts come from in the first place?" "I've been in therapy before, and I know there are deeper dynamics going on here - what about the effects of my childhood?!" Right! Introductions to cognitive therapy are always deceptively simple. They describe the basic mechanism as applied on the surface level, but unless they are grounded in a complex, unified theory that takes into account core beliefs and dynamics, they don't add up to more than a superficial "cookbook" approach. So the quick answers to the above questions, based on a more in-depth view are, "No, we're not seeking to adopt artificially cheerful thoughts or affirmations, but to really evaluate our perspectives so we can open ourselves to less-biased thinking, emotions, and behaviors"; "Automatic thoughts spring from deeper and older core beliefs about the self, others, and the world which are central to our personalities"; and, "There sure are deeper dynamics, and sophisticated practitioners of cognitive therapy do want to know about your formative life experiences. The aim is not simply to gain insight into the origins of your distress, but to help you identify and modify those long-held core beliefs, which is the key to making significant, lasting changes in your present life."