Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Basics
“For as a he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7
“It’s not what happens, it’s how you think about what happens.” Dad
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is based on the ancient idea that it is not external events
but internal processes that determine one’s reactions.
A traditional view of problems:
Stimulus  Response or Activating Event  Consequence
Examples:
Dad yells, and I get scared.
Mom yells, and I ignore her.
The kid spills milk, and I get mad.
The wife spills milk, and I get worried.
A cognitive view holds that the interaction between Activating Events and Consequences
is mediated by mental or cognitive processes (here called Beliefs). This yields a model
that says: Activating Event  Belief  Consequence (A  B  C)
For the purposes of this model, beliefs include attitudes, assumptions, cognitions,
interpretations, perceptions, and any other mental representations. These beliefs are also
called automatic thoughts by some authors. They occur automatically, quickly, and often
unconsciously.
Examples to illustrate the idea that “something” comes between an activating event and
its consequence include the following:
1. The same behavior by two different people produces different responses.
2. The same behavior witnessed in different moods produces different responses.
3. My reaction following an explanation may be dramatically different from my
reaction before an explanation.
Other evidence to support the primary thesis includes:
1. People can induce an emotional state merely by thinking about something.
2. Dreams can produce emotional states.
3. Through hypnotic analgesia, people can experience “painful” procedures
without pain.
Common rebuttals to the primary thesis include:
1. Bad events really do happen to people, and they can’t always get over them.
2. People have physical limitations that their minds cannot overcome.
Responses to these rebuttals:
1. Many people do overcome bad events. The events do not determine the
outcomes.
2. Many people function effectively and happily despite their physical
limitations. The limitations do not determine the outcomes
A caution: This approach does not support the idea that people can do anything they can
imagine, e.g. teletransportation or creation of food to feed the masses merely by mental
activity. It distinguishes internal processes over people have some control from external
events over which people may not have control.
Steps in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
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Explain the approach.
Obtain commitment to the process.
Identify beliefs.
Find the core beliefs
Counter the beliefs.
Monitor countering.