Claricus, I asked a practicing psychologist once about what % of depressed clients CBT seemed to help. She said 50-75%. She said the others are depressed but don't really have the negative thinking patterns that CBT can help with. So if your doctor specifically recommended CBT and not just psychotherapy in general, I wonder if perhaps he/she identified some negative thinking in you and so thought CBT would be a good fit?

I have mostly heard of people doing psychotherapy, whether CBT or another type, face-to-face rather than on the phone. Do you know why your therapist is not doing face-to-face sessions with you?