The therapeutic relationship in CBT is characterized by a high degree of collaboration between patient and therapist and an empirical tone to the work of therapy. The therapist and patient work together as an investigative team. They jointly develop hypotheses about the validity of automatic thoughts and schemas or, alternatively, about the effectiveness of patterns of behavior. A series of exercises or experiments is then designed to test the validity of the hypotheses and, subsequently, to modify cognitions or behavior. A. T. Beck et al. (1979) termed this form of therapeutic relationship collaborative empiricism. Methods for developing a collaborative and empirical relationship are listed in Table 7–1.