Cognitive emotional behavioral therapy (CEBT) is an extended version of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) aimed at helping individuals to evaluate the basis of their emotional distress and thus reduce the need for associated dysfunctional coping behaviors (e.g., eating behaviors including binging, purging, restriction of food intake, and substance misuse). This psychotherapeutic intervention draws on a range of models and techniques including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), mindfulness meditation, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and experiential exercises.
CEBT has been used primarily with individuals suffering from eating disorders, as it offers an alternative when standard CBT is unsuccessful in relieving symptoms. Research indicates that CEBT may help reduce emotional eating, depression, and anxiety and also improve self-esteem. CEBT was developed in 2006 by British psychologist Emma Gray (née Corstorphine). Its key components include psychological education; techniques to enhance awareness of emotions and motivation to change; and strategies to restructure beliefs about the experience and expression of emotions. Although (CEBT) was initially developed to help individuals suffering from eating disorders, its effectiveness in helping people to better understand and manage their emotions has meant that it is increasingly being used by psychologists as a 'pretreatment' to prepare patients for the process of therapy for a range of problems including anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can often be emotionally challenging.