Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the few forms of psychotherapy that has been
scientifically tested and found to be effective in hundreds of clinical trials for many different
disorders. CBT is most focused on the present, is more time-limited, action-focused, and more
problem-solving oriented. The skills you will learn involve identifying distorted thinking,
modifying beliefs, relating to others in different ways, finding healthier and more productive
thoughts, and changing behaviors.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is based on the cognitive model: the way we perceive situations
influences how we feel emotionally. In other words, CBT assumes that changing maladaptive
thinking leads to change in mood and behavior. Additionally, it is important to emphasize that
changes in one’s relationship to maladaptive thinking itself can improve mood and behavior.
Thoughts How we think affects how
we feel and act.
How we act affects how How we feel affects how
we feel and think. we act and think.
Behavior Feelings
Negativity Bias
Scientists believe that your brain has a built-in negativity bias. This negativity bias shows up in
lots of ways. Studies have found that:
The brain generally reacts more to a negative stimulus than to an equally intense
positive one.
Animals, including humans, typically learn faster from pain than from pleasure.
Painful experiences are usually more memorable than pleasurable ones.
Most people will work harder to avoid losing something they have than they’ll work to
gain the same thing.
Lasting, good relationships typically need at least a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative
interactions.
In effect, your brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones. This
shades your implicit memory (your underlying feelings, expectations, beliefs, inclinations, and
mood) in an increasingly negative direction.
Cognitive Distortions
Cognitive distortions are quick, automatic patterns of thinking that you have about yourself,
others, situations, or life in general. Due to our built-in negativity bias, we are vulnerable to
distorted thought patterns that negatively affect our mood and behaviors in a way that
contributes to feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, interpersonal problems. These distortions
tend to be:
Patterned Usually very convincing
Judgmental Unhelpful, unhealthy
Global Lead to negative core beliefs about
Exaggerated self
Inflexible/Rigid
Common Unhelpful Core Beliefs
- I’m a failure. - or - I’m worthless. - or - I’m unlovable.
- I’m a bad (person, partner, parent, friend, child, employee)
- I must be perfectly competent and successful in everything, or it’s worthless.
- I can’t be happy until I found a perfect partner.
- People wouldn’t like me if they really got to know me; I’m unlikable.
- I’m defective.
- I’m just barely able to hold it together; I might lose it at any time.
- I’m not as good as other people.
- I can’t do anything right; it’s one failure after another.
- If I don’t push myself constantly, I’ll get lazy.
- I can’t do anything totally on my own; I always need someone else to rely on.
- I can’t trust anybody; everyone’s out to get me.
- If I don’t do everything I can to please others, they will abandon or reject me.
- I’m messed up from my past; there’s no way I‘ll ever be happy.
Young Adult Symptom Reduction – Week 4
Cognitive Definition Untwisting Your Thinking
Distortion
All-or-Nothing You view things as absolute, black-and- Find the middle ground. Evaluate things 0-
Thinking white, either-or, it is all-or-nothing. 100. See something as a partial
There is no middle ground. success/failure. See what you can learn.
Eliminate “always” and “never.”
Overgeneralization You view a negative event as a never- Examine the evidence. Check the facts.
ending pattern of defeat. You come to What about when this is not true? Find
a general conclusion based on a single evidence for both sides.
incident or piece of information.
Mental Filter You dwell on the negatives and ignore Examine the evidence. Look at the bigger
all the positives. picture.
Discounting the You insist that your accomplishments or Ask others to find out if there is something
Positives positive qualities “don’t count.” you’re missing. Examine the evidence,
find balanced thoughts.
Jumping to Mind Reading – you assume that people Check the facts. Ask more questions.
Conclusions are reacting negatively to you when
there’s no definite evidence for this. Can we truly read someone’s mind or
Fortune Telling – you arbitrarily predict predict the future?
things will turn out badly.
Magnification or You blow things way out of proportion, Check the facts. How would someone you
Minimization or, you shrink their importance trust see this? Talk to yourself in a more
inappropriately. compassionate way.
Emotional You reason from how you feel. “I feel Use emotions as a guide, but don’t let
Reasoning like an idiot, so I really must be one.” “I them rule you. Do a cost-benefit analysis
don’t feel like doing this, so I’ll put it of a feeling, a negative thought, or a
off.” behavior pattern.
“Should” You criticize or try to motivate yourself The semantic method: Simply substitute
Statements or other people with “shoulds” or language that is less colorful or
“shouldn’ts” (or “musts,” “oughts,” emotionally loaded. Replace the ugliest
“have tos”). words.
Labeling You identify with your shortcomings. Define the term, then check the facts and
Instead of describing your error, you examine the evidence.
attach a negative label to yourself or Or, use the semantic method and replace
others. the label with a more compassionate
statement.
Personalization You blame yourself for something you Think about the many factors that may
and Blame weren’t entirely responsible for, or you have contributed. Re-attribute the
blame other people and overlook ways responsibility accordingly. Focus on
your own attitudes and behavior might problem-solving.
contribute to a problem.
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Young Adult Symptom Reduction – Week 4
CBT Worksheet
Situation or Automatic Thought(s) Associated Cognitive Healthy/Balanced Thought(s)
Trigger Feeling(s) Distortion(s)
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Young Adult Symptom Reduction – Week 4
