This second edition of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Basics and Beyond is intended for individuals at any stage of experience and skill who wish to learn or improve in the fundamentals of CBT. It is a manual identifying the key principles and aims of CBT for adults with psychological problems, giving guidance on how to structure and conduct therapy from beginning to end.

Beck starts by giving an introduction to the theory and background of CBT and makes suggestions on how the therapist can develop by applying the tools and techniques to themselves. Throughout the book, one patient is described and followed to highlight and demonstrate the CBT techniques. The patient has a straightforward, single episode of depression with anxious features and this helps to demonstrate techniques key to the treatment of depression, such as behavioural activation.

Practical chapters follow covering key topics such as conceptualization, therapy structure and format, imagery, homework, relapse prevention and identifying, responding to and challenging negative automatic thoughts, emotions and core beliefs. There is also a helpful chapter focusing on problems that can occur during therapy.

Throughout the book, transcriptions of patient/therapist sessions are given to demonstrate the implementation of therapy and techniques. This provides a valuable insight into how to conduct therapy in an open and Socratic way. It also contains additional information on planning treatment, and the Appendix recommends resources for the therapist as well as giving a sample outline for writing up a case study, using examples from the case referred to throughout the book. This could be very useful for anyone writing up a CBT case study.

In summary, this revised edition is a more up-to-date version. It is written in a clear and organized format and provides a clear framework for using CBT with adults presenting with depression. However, much of the content is also relevant to conducting CBT with other disorders. The book is ideal for those practitioners who are early in their CBT career and is a good mix of practical guidance, reference to theory and the evidence-base. Having said that, it is also useful for more experienced CBT therapists wishing to refresh and remind themselves of the basic principles of CBT.