One of my earliest cognitive therapy patients asked if we’d spend time exploring his past. He thought we might find patterns that would explain his depression.

I was taken aback. I had just discovered a set of powerful, active techniques that helped people change how they felt in the here-and-now. As a psychiatric resident, I had seen that endless venting without specific techniques for change led to little or no relief.

So, I made him an offer.

I told him I’d be happy to explore his past for as long as he wanted—with just one catch. He’d have to work with me for a few sessions so I could cure his depression first. Then, if he was still interested, we could spend as many months as he wanted digging into his history.

He agreed, and he responded really well to CBT. His depression disappeared after just a few sessions. When I told him we could now begin exploring his past, he said he no longer needed that, and he felt ready to move on with his life.

Over the years, I made the same offer to many patients who had spent years in traditional talk therapy. And without exception, once they were feeling joyful and hopeful again, their interest in exploring the past suddenly evaporated.

That experience shaped what I now call TEAM CBT—a high-speed approach to treating depression and anxiety that focuses on what’s happening right now. Over the past 35 years,........

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