Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Purchase: Amazon or American Psychological Association
The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a two-volume reference that brings together contemporary scholarship on CBT theory, evidence, strategies, techniques, treatment packages, and clinical applications. It covers the field comprehensively, from historical and philosophical foundations to practical application across conditions, modalities, settings, and populations.
This handbook functions as an authoritative professional resource for clinicians, researchers, and training programs that require a thorough, research-grounded account of cognitive behavioral therapy.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most extensively researched forms of psychotherapy. No single resource had previously organized the full scope of CBT scholarship within one publication. This handbook addresses that gap.
Purchase the Handbook
The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is available through the American Psychological Association and Amazon.
Order from the American Psychological Association |Order on Amazon
Purchase links are available for individual volumes and the complete two-volume set. Institutional access and library acquisition are also available through APA or a preferred library vendor.
Citation and Publication Details
Editor: Amy Wenzel, PhD, ABPP
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Year: 2021
Format: Two-volume hardcover and digital
Subject: Cognitive behavioral therapy
APA Citation: Wenzel, A. (Ed.). (2021). Handbook of cognitive behavioral therapy (Vols. 1–2). American Psychological Association.
The full bibliographic record, including ISBNs for each volume, is available through the WorldCat library record and the APA Psyc Books catalog.
What the Handbook Covers
The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy organizes the field's current knowledge into two structured volumes. Contributors include leading CBT scholars and clinicians who address theoretical foundations, empirical support, case conceptualization, the therapeutic relationship, and applied clinical practice.
The handbook is designed to serve both as a reference for individual clinicians and as a required text for graduate training programs.
Volume 1: Overview and Approaches
Volume 1 establishes the theoretical and empirical foundations of cognitive behavioral therapy. Topics include the historical development of CBT and its philosophical roots, the theoretical framework that guides current practice, mechanisms of therapeutic change, and the evidence base for CBT efficacy across clinical presentations.
Additional chapters address case formulation principles, dissemination and implementation science, and the integration of the therapeutic relationship into standard CBT delivery. Core CBT strategies are reviewed in depth alongside structured treatment protocols, providing clinicians with a rigorous account of how CBT techniques are selected and applied within an individualized framework.
Volume 2: Applications
Volume 2 moves from foundational theory to clinical practice. It covers CBT applied across specific conditions, including anxiety disorders, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, insomnia, perinatal distress, and trauma-related presentations. Chapters address CBT delivered through individual therapy, group formats, and digital modalities.
The volume also covers varied clinical settings and diverse patient populations, providing frameworks for clinicians who work with complex presentations that extend beyond a single diagnosis or treatment protocol.
This applied focus makes Volume 2 especially practical for supervisors, training clinicians, and established practitioners who want concrete guidance on applying CBT across a range of real-world clinical demands.
Who This Book Is For
The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is best suited for:
Licensed clinicians and psychotherapists who use CBT in practice
CBT trainees and early-career clinicians building foundational knowledge
Graduate students in clinical psychology, counseling, and social work programs
Clinical supervisors and training directors
Researchers investigating CBT efficacy, mechanisms, or applications
Instructors teaching graduate-level psychotherapy or CBT courses
Institutional and clinical libraries seeking a comprehensive reference on evidence-based psychotherapy
About the Editor: Amy Wenzel, PhD, ABPP
Amy Wenzel, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and internationally recognized CBT scholar. She is the founder of the Main Line Center for Evidence-Based Psychotherapy in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and serves as a trainer-consultant with the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies.
Dr. Wenzel has authored or edited more than 25 books on cognitive behavioral therapy, perinatal mental health, suicide prevention, and related areas. She developed Therapeutic Relationship-Focused CBT (TRF-CBT), an approach that integrates the therapeutic relationship directly into empirically supported CBT practice.
Her editorial and clinical work is unified by a commitment to bringing rigorous scholarship into individualized, practical care.
Her expertise in perinatal distress, suicide risk, and the therapeutic relationship shapes the organization and content of this handbook, distinguishing it from standard CBT reference texts that address technique without relational or clinical context.
Why the Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Matters
CBT is practiced across clinical settings worldwide, yet the field's scholarship is distributed across hundreds of journal articles, training manuals, and single-topic books.
The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy consolidates that literature into one organized reference that supports both learning and clinical decision-making.
For clinicians managing complex cases, the handbook provides more than a list of techniques. It presents the field's theoretical basis, its empirical track record, and its ongoing evolution, including applications to underserved areas such as perinatal distress and diverse populations.
That breadth makes it a resource clinicians return to across career stages rather than a one-time training supplement.
For training programs, the handbook's two-volume structure provides a curriculum-ready framework that moves from foundational theory in Volume 1 to applied clinical practice in Volume 2.
Related CBT Books by Amy Wenzel
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques and Strategies: a practical guide to CBT interventions for clinicians and trainees
Strategic Decision Making in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: covers clinical reasoning and case-based decision-making in CBT practice
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Perinatal Distress: specialized CBT for anxiety, depression, and distress during the perinatal period
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Veterans and Military Servicemembers: CBT applications for depression in military populations
To browse all books by Amy Wenzel, visit the books page.
Buy or Request the Handbook
The Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is available through the American Psychological Association and Amazon. Institutional and library access can be arranged through APA or a preferred vendor.
Order from the American Psychological Association |Order on Amazon
To learn more about the clinical frameworks that inform Dr. Wenzel's practice, browse all books by Amy Wenzel or contact the practice to ask about evidence-based therapy in Bryn Mawr.
Explore More by Amy Wenzel
Clinicians building on the handbook's foundations may also find value in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques and Strategies, Strategic Decision Making in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Innovations in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Trainees and those newer to CBT may find Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Beginners a useful complement to the handbook.
If you are a therapist or trainee looking for individualized, evidence-based care or training resources grounded in this work, contact the practice to learn about current availability.
