The book, unique in the field of cognitive behavioral therapy, includes techniques and tools for both the novice and the experienced therapist. The leading expert in the field, Robert L. Leahy, describes ways in which therapists will help clients identify and modify their problematic thoughts, core beliefs, as well as patterns of anxious thinking, self-criticism, seeking approval, and anger.

Following the introduction, there are 121 useful techniques and 123 essential forms ready for use in clinical practice. Specifically, the techniques address eliciting, assessing, and challenging thoughts, as well as assumptions and rules, as well as examining information processing and logical errors.

In the second part, the techniques focus on decision-making, evaluating intrusive thoughts encountered in obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, health anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder, and depression, as well as modifying anxious thoughts and rumination.

The main part of the book concludes with techniques that deal with perceiving things from the right perspective, managing core schemas, and emotional regulation techniques. The last four chapters are dedicated to specific applications, such as examining and "challenging" cognitive distortions.

Each technique in the book is structured around a consistent pattern and includes the following: "Description," "Questions/Intervention," "Example/Role-play," "Homework," "Potential Problems," "Reference to Other Related Techniques," as well as the corresponding "Form" for use in the session and/or at home.

Robert L. Leahy is the founder and director of the American Institute of Cognitive Therapy and a professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College.