![]() The aim of these techniques is not to ‘think happy thoughts’ or to replace negative thoughts with positive ones, rather, it is to overcome biases and think accurately. ‘Cognitive restructuring’ describes the category of techniques that cognitive therapists use to help their clients to overcome their cognitive biases and think differently. Beck (1963) and Burns (1980) have described common cognitive biases which are outlined in more detail in our information handout Unhelpful Thinking Styles. For example, people who suffer from certain types of anxiety often ‘catastrophize’, and people who are depressed often discount positive information. However, automatic thoughts are often inaccurate – biased in characteristic ways – and there is considerable evidence that different mental health problems are associated with particular biases in thinking. thinking “He could hurt me too” after seeing an acquaintance act violently would be both negative and accurate). Some negative thoughts are accurate representations of the world (e.g. sadness, anxiety, anger) are commonly described as Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs). 34)Īutomatic thoughts that result in negative emotions (e.g. are situation specific and may be considered the most superficial level of cognition” (Beck & Beck, 1995, p. your parent asks to speak to you and you think “It’s bound to be bad news”). Automatic thoughts are not facts, but they are so immediate and familiar that we often assume them to be true (e.g. These arise quickly and without any apparent effort throughout our day to day lives, often in response to specific events (or in response to other thoughts or memories). ![]() “If someone is nice to me, it’s because they don’t know the real me”). They can often be stated in a conditional if-then format (e.g. These are understood as a set of assumptions that guide behavior across different situations. “I’m competent”, “I’m unlovable”, “No one can be trusted”, “The world is dangerous and unpredictable”, “I’m adaptable”). These are understood as generalized statements that shape how an individual understands themselves, other people, and the world (e.g. Moving from the deepest to the most superficial, these are: The CBT cognitive model describes different levels of cognition that underpin how we think about ourselves, other people and the world, shaping our interpretation and response to events. The model implies that we can change how we feel by changing how we think. Rather, it is the interpretation of those events – our appraisals, thoughts, or cognitions – that trigger our emotional responses. We can guide our children in recognising these thoughts and turning them around, so that they can gain control of the constant bombardment of these thoughts, which can help to steer them away from low self-esteem and depression.Beck’s cognitive model (Beck et al, 1979) proposes that events are not directly responsible for the way we feel. We then normalise this by recognising that this is something that many people do, but we can change it by challenging the thought "what is another possibility?" "Can I be 100% sure this is true?" "If my friend had this thought what would I tell them?" Once we find out what those thoughts are we can work out what type of distorted thinking they are using.Īre they overgeneralising thinking that one bad thing means everything is always bad?Īre they catastrophising making small things seem like big problems?ĭo they filter focusing on the bad and ignoring the good? If so, what is it they are telling themselves? To spot the negative thought, keep these questions in mind ĭoes your child blame themselves for something that was caused by external circumstances?ĭo they become easily angry with themselves?ĭo they have trouble tolerating mistakes, disappointments or losing? In doing this we can provide them with a sense of control and power over this pattern of negative thinking. ![]() We can then normalise this experience and challenge the thought. We can help our children recognise the negative thoughts that are happening and understand different types of distorted thinking. Without the dangers that were faced in the prehistoric days, it has become very unhelpful, as we can get stuck in negative thinking, which creates a negative neural pathway and a downward spiral into low self-esteem and depression. This is traced back to the prehistoric days, where the primitive person had to be able to register threats to avoid danger. ![]() Our brains are hardwired for the negative.
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