CHAPTER 6: cognitive restructuring

Question 1

Cognitive restructuring

Answer 1

• Identifies specific automatic thoughts, biases and distortions, the situations that elicit them and modifies the content and credibility of them.
• Develops more helpful and less rigid/negative assumptions, creating more adaptive schema’s.
• Focus on negative automatic thoughts about the self, the world and the future.

Question 2

Cognitive restructuring techniques

Answer 2

1. Identifying, categorising and monitoring automatic thoughts.
2. Examining costs and benefits of (distorted) thoughts
3. Defining the demands/terms
4. Examining the evidence.
5. Using vertical descent
6. Rational role play against beliefs
7. Double standard technique
8. Behavioural experiments
9. Developing more adaptive thoughts/strategies

Question 3

(1) Identifying, categorising and monitoring automatic thoughts

Answer 3

Keep an ongoing record of negative moods, the situations that elicit them and their accompanying thoughts. Then rate the degree of belief in the thoughts.

Question 4

(2) Examining costs and benefits of (distorted) thoughts

Answer 4

Clients often have distorted meta-congitions like “criticising myself will motivate me”. Examine the costs and benefits of these thoughts.

Question 5

(3) Defining the demands/terms

Answer 5

Clients often have demanding and ideosyncratic (eigenaardige) demands and terms they use. Identify thinking errors!
Example: when they say they they are a loser, what does ‘loser’ mean to them?

Question 6

(4) Examining the evidence

Answer 6

For and against the thoughts, and then weighing them. Don’t change them from negative to positive, but to realistic. Create constructive doubt about negative thoughts.

Question 7

(5) Using vertical descent

Answer 7

Identifying the initial negative thought and then ask: if that were true, what would that mean to you? What would then happen? Go all the way down! Help the patient realise the absurdity of their thoughts.

Question 8

(6) Rational role play against beliefs

Answer 8

Taking the rational or the negative perspective. This often reveals underlying negative defences of an automatic thought.
Example: “worrying gives a sense of security”

Question 9

(7) Double standard technique

Answer 9

Many people are fair and reasonable about others, but harsh and critical to themselves. The double standard technique can be done with roleplaying when the client plays someone defending the criticism.

Question 10

(8) Behavioural experiment

Answer 10

Part of collecting and examining evidence for the negative thoughts. Kind of exposure that directly tests out their thoughts and allows disconfirmation.

Question 11

(9) Developing more adaptive thoughts/strategies

Answer 11

Once thoughts have been identified, testen, challenged and changed, more adaptive schema’s can be identified and used.