Why CBT Looks Different From What I Expected

hello@ghafoorsblog.com (AG Sayyed) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I write software for a living, so when I opened the first week of a cognitive behavioural therapy course I reached for the nearest mental model I had: a rule engine. Symptoms in, prescribed response out. The course spends its first week explaining why that model is wrong, and it took me most of the session to understand why it matters.

The Model I Brought With Me

CBT describes a cycle. Something happens, an automatic thought arises, an emotion follows, and the whole thing loops until a belief changes. Sketched out, it looks like this:

CBT

hello@ghafoorsblog.com (AG Sayyed) — Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This is a working notebook for a 10-week course on Cognitive Behavioural Therapies. The structured course material stays private; what appears here are the parts worth sharing.

What to Expect

Posts are written as the course progresses, rather than all at once. Each one should be readable on its own, without requiring the reader to have taken the course.

Nothing here is clinical advice. These are study notes and personal reflections, written by someone working through CBT for the first time from a software background.

CBT on Ghafoor's Personal Blog

Why CBT Looks Different From What I Expected

The Model I Brought With Me

CBT

What to Expect