CBT Basics
The three interconnected components of the CBT triangle.
What are Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors?
These are the quick, fleeting thoughts that pop into your head immediately after an event.
What are Automatic Thoughts?
Assuming you know what someone else is thinking about you without any real evidence.
What is Mind Reading?
The deepest, most rigid level of our thinking about ourselves, others, and the world.
What are Core Beliefs?
A coping skill involving inhaling deeply through the nose and exhaling slowly through the mouth to calm the nervous system.
What is Deep Breathing (or Diaphragmatic Breathing)?
The fundamental premise of CBT is that this dictates how we feel, rather than the event itself.
What is our interpretation (or our thoughts/meaning) of the event?
A common CBT tool used to track events, thoughts, and feelings in everyday life.
What is a Thought Record (or Dysfunctional Thought Record)?
Seeing things in only two categories, such as perfect or a total failure.
What is All-or-Nothing Thinking (or Black-and-White Thinking)?
"I am unlovable," "I am incompetent," and "I am worthless" are examples of this category of core beliefs.
What are Negative (or Helpless/Unlovable/Worthless) Core Beliefs?
The technique of tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups in the body to reduce physical anxiety.
What is Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)?
This psychiatrist is widely considered the father of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Who is Aaron Beck?
The technique of repeatedly asking "What does that mean about me?" to find a deeper belief.
What is the Downward Arrow Technique?
Predicting the absolute worst possible outcome for a future event.
What is Catastrophizing?
The psychological tendency to only notice evidence that supports your core belief while ignoring evidence that contradicts it.
What is Confirmation Bias (or Mental Filter)?
An intervention where a person intentionally faces a feared situation to test their anxious predictions.
What is a Behavioral Experiment (or Exposure)?
These are the "rules for living" or "if/then" statements that connect automatic thoughts to core beliefs.
What are Underlying Assumptions (or Intermediate Beliefs)?
Instead of stopping negative thoughts completely, CBT aims to make our thoughts more of this.
What is balanced (or realistic/adaptive)?
Believing that because you feel a certain way, it must be objectively true (e.g., "I feel stupid, so I am stupid").
What is Emotional Reasoning?
This questioning technique, named after a Greek philosopher, is used to gently test the logic of a core belief.
What is Socratic Questioning?
Using our five senses (sight, touch, sound, smell, taste) to bring our focus back to the present moment.
What is Grounding (or the 5-4-3-2-1 Technique)?
This collaborative approach in CBT involves the therapist and client testing beliefs like scientists.
What is Collaborative Empiricism?
The percentage you assign to how much you believe a thought is true, often used before and after a thought record.
What is a Belief Rating (or Conviction Rating)?
Taking responsibility for events outside of your control, or blaming yourself for other people's actions.
What is Personalization?
Core beliefs are often formed during this stage of life, though they can be altered by major life events later on.
What is Childhood (or Early Development)?
Scheduling enjoyable or meaningful activities into your day to improve mood, often used for depression.
What is Behavioral Activation?