Definitions
You see things in black and white categories If a situation falls short of perfect, you see it as a total failure.
All-or-nothing thinking
“She’s late. It’s raining. She has hydroplaned and her car is upside down in a ditch.“
Catastrophizing
You reduce yourself or other people to a single, usually negative, characteristic or descriptor
Labeling
A teen’s parent tells them they’re disappointed with their grades. They think “They’re never proud of me — I’ll never be good enough.” So they stop completing any homework and skip class.
Thought: “They’re never proud of me — I’ll never be good enough.”
Feeling: Sad, ashamed, unmotivated
Behavior: Withdraws from family, avoids schoolwork, stops trying
Client says: “Everything is going to fall apart if I stay here.”
👉 Distortion + reframe
Answer: Catastrophizing
Reframe: I don’t have evidence everything will fall apart
You see a single negative event as a neverending pattern of defeat by using words such as ‘always’ or “never” when you think about it.
Overgeneralization
When a young woman on a diet ate a spoonful of ice cream, she told herself, ‘I’ve blown my diet completely.’
All-or-nothing Thinking
You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are
Emotional Reasoning
A teen shares in group and receives positive feedback. “Maybe I actually am getting better at talking about my feelings.” So they participate more in future groups, opens up with peers and staff
Thought: “Maybe I actually am getting better at talking about my feelings.”
Feeling: Proud, encouraged, hopeful
Behavior: Participates more in future groups, opening up
Client says: “They looked at me weird, they’re judging me.”
👉 Distortion + reframe
Answer: Mind reading
Missing: Maybe they were looking at something else behind me
Interpreting the meaning of what happened without enough evidence to support your interpretation.
Jumping to Conclusions
“I lost my train of thought during the presentation and had to pause for several seconds which made me look like an idiot”
Magnification
You tell yourself that things ought to be the way you hoped or expected them to be.
"Should" Statements
Identify the thought, feeling and behavior:
A teen is told they have to stay in program for another week. They say “This is so unfair. They just want to keep me stuck here forever." They then refuse to participate in group, argues with staff, shuts down during check-ins
Thought: “This is so unfair. They just want to keep me stuck here forever.”
Feeling: Angry, trapped, hopeless
Behavior: Refusing to participate in group
Client says: “If I’m not perfect at ROWI, I’m failing.”
👉 Distortion + reframe
Answer: All-or-nothing thinking
Reframe: Progress matters more than perfection
leads people to dread or assume the worst when faced with the unknown
Catastrophizing
They did not come down to speak with me. They must be upset with me.
Personalization, maybe Mind Reading
When people assume they know what others are thinking
Mind Reading
Derek feels angry but chooses to take a break instead of lashing out. He thinks "I'm glad I left that room before I said something mean." In the future, he continues to ask to take breaks and avoid blowing up.
Thought: “I actually managed to walk away — that’s a big deal for me.”
Feeling: Proud, in control, respected
Behavior: Uses coping skills, avoids conflict, feels more confident in self-control
Client says: “I messed up before, so I’ll always mess up.”
👉 Distortion + reframe
Answer: Overgeneralization
Reframe: One mistake doesn’t define my future
You exaggerate the importance of your problems and shortcomings, or you minimize the importance of your desirable qualities.
Disqualifying the positive
‘I feel terrified about going on airplanes, it must be very dangerous to fly.’
Emotional Reasoning
Taking things personally when they’re not connected to or caused by you at all.
Personalization
Identify her thought, feeling and behavior
"A teen texts a friend and doesn’t get a reply for several hours. She thinks "They’re ignoring me — I must’ve done something wrong.” so she stops replying to any messages from other friends and self-isolates.
thought: they're ignoring me
feeling: left out/ignored/upset/
behavior: self-isolating and ignoring friends
Client says: “I should have handled that better.”
👉 Distortion + reframe
Answer: 'Should' Statements
Reframe: I can learn from this and try again the next time this happens.