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Evidence-based · Clinically reviewed

The mind tells stories. Some of them aren't true.

We help people recognize the cognitive distortions that shape distress — and learn the gentle, practiced skill of thinking more clearly. Free, science-backed, and built with compassion.

Start with the basics → Take the self-check
15 cognitive patterns mapped from Beck, Burns & others
75% of patients improve with cognitive behavioral approaches
100% of our content reviewed by licensed clinicians
Begin here

Fifteen patterns that quietly shape what we believe.

Cognitive distortions are habits of thought — not flaws of character. Each one is learnable, and each one is unlearnable. Start with whichever pattern feels familiar.

01 / Fifteen

All-or-Nothing Thinking

Seeing things in black-and-white categories. If a performance isn't perfect, you see it as a total failure.

Learn this pattern
02 / Fifteen

Catastrophizing

Expecting disaster. You notice a single negative detail and dwell on it until your view of reality darkens.

Learn this pattern
03 / Fifteen

Mind Reading

Assuming you know what others are thinking — usually that they're judging you — without evidence.

Learn this pattern
04 / Fifteen

Personalization

Seeing yourself as the cause of negative events that you weren't primarily responsible for.

Learn this pattern
05 / Fifteen

Emotional Reasoning

Believing that because you feel something strongly, it must be true. "I feel like a burden, so I must be one."

Learn this pattern
06 / Fifteen

Should Statements

Holding yourself or others to rigid rules. The emotional consequence is guilt, frustration, and resentment.

Learn this pattern
See all fifteen patterns →
How we work

Notice. Examine. Reframe.

Our approach draws on cognitive behavioral therapy — the most rigorously studied form of talk therapy in the world. We translate it into something you can practice anywhere.

i.

Notice the thought

The first skill is awareness. We help you catch the thoughts that drift through unexamined — the ones that color a whole afternoon without you knowing why.

ii.

Examine the evidence

Is this thought accurate? Is it fair? Would you say it to someone you love? Gentle questions reveal what's distorted and what's real.

iii.

Reframe with care

Not toxic positivity. Not forced affirmations. A more accurate, more compassionate thought — the kind that lets you keep moving.

The research

Built on fifty years of clinical evidence.

Cognitive behavioral therapy was developed by Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s and refined into accessible language by David D. Burns. It has since become one of the most rigorously tested psychological interventions in history.

Meta-analyses consistently show CBT is effective for depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, OCD, and a range of other conditions — often as effective as medication, with longer-lasting results.

Every page on this site is reviewed by a licensed clinician before publication. We cite our sources. We update when the evidence changes.

  • Beck, A. T. (1979) Cognitive Therapy of Depression. Guilford Press. The foundational text.
  • Burns, D. D. (1980) Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Translated CBT into everyday practice.
  • Hofmann et al. (2012) The Efficacy of CBT: A Review of Meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5).
  • Cuijpers et al. (2023) Cognitive behaviour therapy for mental disorders: an umbrella review. World Psychiatry, 22(1).