Cognitive Therapy in Groups Session 2 Thinking and Feeling

Generation of Negative Emotion Stream of consciousness B: Lousy Ref Activating event eC: Anger b C: Boo Logical Errors Biased Thinking Black & W thinking Referees should…If not they are…

Logical Errors Errors in making conclusions from sensory input. Not errors in perception. AKA ‘cognitive distortions’. Misinterpretation or non-objective interpretation.

Kinds of Logical Errors More Dire Than Justified MDTJ Unjustified Negative Prediction UNP Over Generalization OG Black & White Thinking B&WT Invalid Allocation Of Responsibility IAOR Mind Reading MR Biased Weighting BW Ignoring Facts IF False Absolute FA Must Or Should MOS Emotional Reasoning ER 

Generation of Negative Emotion Stream of consciousness Automatic Thought B: Lousy Ref Activating event eC: Anger Logical Errors b C: Boo Biased Thinking Black & W thinking Referees should…If not they are…

Automatic Thoughts (1) Are transient phenomena (like a spoken sentence). Occur in the stream of consciousness. They are short and specific. They occur extremely rapidly, immediately after the event.

Automatic Thoughts (2) They do not occur in sentences, but may consist of a few key words or images. They do not arise from careful thought. They do not occur in a logical series of steps such as in problem solving. They seem to happen just by reflex.

Generation of Negative Emotion Stream of consciousness Automatic Thought B: Lousy Ref Activating event eC: Anger Logical Errors b C: Boo Biased Thinking Black & W thinking Referees should…If not they are… SCHEMA CONTENT

Schema Definition Schemas are permanent entities stored some where in your brain. They contain ‘Schema Content’ – long term reference material about things in the world in the form of: Formal propositions. Memories. Associated emotions. Action tendencies.

Propositional content A Schema is like a box that contains the results of previous experiences as interpreted by the person Propositional content Memories Associated emotions Action tendencies The content of the schema can be positive or negative or a mixture.

Common Schema Topics/Content of Fundamental Schemas The value of ourself The nature of our life/the world The state of our social life The integrity/safety of ourselves The value of others Content can be Present or Future Conditional

The Negative Thinking Sequence Stream of consciousness (Includes awareness of sensation) Automatic Thoughts Activating event emotional Consequence behavioural Consequence (strategies) Logical Processes Schema

Referee awards penalty Identifying Surface Beliefs and Writing Them in the 3-Column Format (1) emotional Consequence Activating event Belief or thought Referee awards penalty He’s useless Anger

Identifying Surface Beliefs and Writing Them in the 3-Column Format (2) emotional Consequence Activating event Belief or thought Bike smash My career is over, this is the end Depression

emotional Consequence Identifying Surface Beliefs and Writing Them in the 3-Column Format (3) emotional Consequence Activating event Belief or thought Boss yells I’m useless Depression

emotional Consequence Identifying Surface Beliefs and Writing Them in the 3-Column Format (4) emotional Consequence Activating event Belief or thought Boss yells How dare he! Angry

Identifying Surface Beliefs and Writing Them in the 3-Column Format (5) emotional Consequence Activating event Belief or thought I’ll probably embarrass myself Going to a party Anxiety

Techniques for Capturing Automatic Thoughts Replay the event in your mind. Relax, allow your mind to wander and just notice what thoughts (including images) come into your mind. Imagine you are re-experiencing the event. Recreate the conditions of the event.

Generation of Negative Emotion Stream of consciousness B: Lousy Ref Automatic Thought eC: Anger Emotional Consequence Activating event b C: Boo Behavioural consequence Logical Errors Biased Thinking Black & W thinking Referees should…If not they are… SCHEMA content

Automatic Thoughts (1) Are transient phenomena (like a spoken sentence). Occur in the stream of consciousness. They are short and specific. They occur extremely rapidly, immediately after the event.

Automatic Thoughts (2) They do not occur in sentences, but may consist of a few key words or images. They do not arise from careful thought. They do not occur in a logical series of steps such as in problem solving. They seem to happen just by reflex.

The Main Elements in Cognitive Theory Negative Automatic Thoughts Negative Schemas/Negative Schema Content Process of Logical Errors/Cognitive Distortions Content negative with respect to Self World Future

Individual Work from Session 2 Do approximately one ABC per day using an ‘Identifying Beliefs’ Worksheet, or the 3-Column approach Activating event Belief or thought emotional Consequence

Identifying Beliefs ACB Worksheet

Identifying Beliefs ABC Worksheet