Yeah, I can see how cbt can come off that way. I did it quite a few years ago, though I had no idea at the time. (It was my "homework" from required therapy sessions.) It can be helpful in getting you to recognize the "tapes" of those automatic negative thoughts in your head that are unhelpful in trying to get better. Our thinking in depression *is* wrong in the sense that our perceptions get pretty warped. You know how you can have those thoughts where some small part of your brain is trying to fight the overwhelming thoughts? CBT might be thought of as giving a boost in troop strength to that small part. It also basically teaches you to try to recognize and catch those unhelpful thoughts. It might seem they'd be obvious, but they can be so ingrained and automatic that we don't recognize them(!)

Anyhow, I can't say one way or the other. I've never done DBT.