Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy which is an active, directive, time limited and structured approach, that treats a variety of psychiatric disorders (eg. depression, anxiety, phobias, etc). It is based on an underlying theoretical rationale that an individual's affect and behaviour are largely determined by the way in which they structure the world. Their cognitions (verbal or pictorial events in an individuals stream of consciousness) are based on attitudes or assumptions developed from previous experiences.
CBT works by helping you make sense of over whelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts.
CBT may focus on what is going on in the present rather than what has hapened in the past. However, therapy may also look at how past experiences are having an impact on your life now.