After about 50 years of CBT, third wave therapy pioneers including Hayes, Linehan have put forward the questionsif“ controlling ”thoughts and emotions part of the problem or actually a solution. The shift has been from ‘controlling” thoughts to “acceptance”, mindfulness, visualization, psychological flexibility, action based on values and so forth. Changing the “how” of the thought processes.
Putting thoughts in context, and changing relationships with our thoughts form the crux of third wave CBT therapies. Third wave CBTs include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Behavioural Activation (BA),Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), Cognitive Behavioural Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP), Integrative Couple Therapy (ICT).
CBT The Terms and Therapy
COGNITION: Cognition refers to a range of mental processes relating to the acquisition, storage, manipulation, and retrieval of information. AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS: Automatic thoughts, a concept in cognitive behavioural therapy, are images or mental activity that occur as a response to a trigger (like an action or event) and initiate a response.
INTERMEDIATE BELIEFS: Intermediate beliefs are a mediator between automatic thoughts and core beliefs. These are perceptions of how things work that influence how you interpret the current situation. They can be rules, assumptions, “shoulds,” or attitudes.
CORE BELIEFS: Core beliefs are rigid, deeply rooted beliefs about yourself, others, or the world. Worthlessness, unlovability, or helplessness are core beliefs.
SCHEMA: Schemas are a series of interconnected core beliefs that form a mental framework to organise information.
COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS: Cognitive distortions are thought patterns that are negative, illogical, and interfere with functioning and appraisal of events.
Core Beliefs
Absolute statements and beliefs about the world and themselves. Can be ADAPTIVE or MALADAPTIVE.
Adaptive Core Beliefs
STRENGTHEN FURTHER – e.g., Visualize getting through an interview
Maladaptive Core Beliefs
STRATEGY 1 – SOCRATIC QUESTIONING
Example core belief: “There is something wrong with me…”
Engage in a fruitful dialogue:
CLARIFICATION:
What do you mean when you say “something is wrong with you?”
Could you explain that point further?
Can you provide an example?
CHALLENGING ASSUMPTIONS:
Is there a different point of view?
Would your friends say the same about you?
What assumptions are we making here?
EVIDENCE AND REASONING:
Can you provide an example that supports what you are saying?
Can we validate that evidence?
Do we have all the information we need?
ALTERNATE VIEWPOINTS:
Are there alternative viewpoints?
Is there a possibility that people might think you are fine?
How could someone else respond, and why?
IMPLICATIONS:
How would this belief affect you in the long-term?
CHALLENGING THE QUESTION:
What do you think was important about that question: “Is some thing wrong with me”?
What would have been a better question to ask?
“What are my strengths and weaknesses?”
Strategy 2: Reframing – Context And Content
Event – Party
Thought – “No one is talking to me. I must be boring.”
Intermediate Belief – “I should be liked in order to be a normal person”
Core Belief – “Something is wrong with me”
Reframe – There are several reasons why someone would not talk to me. I am not a boring person, and I know that there are people who do talk to me. There is no agreed universal definition of “being wrong with someone.” I am liked by some and disliked by some. It is not a reflection of something being wrong with me.
Context Reframing:
“My son is too stubborn and arrogant.”
Reflect and explore where stubbornness may be a positive quality.
Content Reframing:
“My boss has not allocated a work to me.”
Reflect and explore if you are overqualified or better off doing higher-input projects.
Strategy 3: Behavioural Experiments
Example: “I am a boring person”
Behavioural Experiment: To go to a neighbor’s house to just have a chat.
The fact that the neighbor was happy to talk for some time will disprove the above belief.
Strategy 4: Cognitive Continuum
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