CBT Basics
What is CBT?
This therapy focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Thinking in extremes like “I’m a total success or a total failure.”
What is polarized thinking? Black and White Thinking, All of nothing etc...
“I missed one meeting, so I’ll never get recovery right.”
What is overgeneralization?
What is a thought record?
This CBT tool helps people write down a situation, thought, feeling, and alternative thought.
“I relapsed once, so I’m a total failure.”
“I had a setback, but one relapse does not erase my progress.”
What are thoughts? (How do they influence our actions?)
In CBT, these often influence how we feel and what we do.
Focusing only on the negative and ignoring the positive.
What is mental filtering?
“They didn’t text back. They must be mad at me.”
What is mind reading?
What is checking the evidence?
This means testing whether a thought is actually supported by facts.
“Nobody in this group understands me.”
“Some people may understand parts of what I’m going through, even if not perfectly.”
What are thinking patterns and behaviors?
How we think is also how we react, act, and cope
Predicting the worst without evidence.
What is catastrophizing or fortune telling?
“I made a mistake, so I’m an idiot.”
What is labeling?
What is “Is this thought helpful?”
Instead of asking “Is this thought true?” CBT often asks this second question.
“If I feel anxious, that means I can’t handle recovery.”
“Feeling anxious does not mean I’m failing. Anxiety is uncomfortable, and I can still use skills to cope.”
What is examining or challenging a thought?
This CBT skill means noticing a thought instead of automatically believing it.
Taking something personally when it may not actually be about you.
What is personalization?
“I should already be over this.”
What are should statements?
This is a more balanced replacement for “Everything is ruined.”
What is “Something went wrong, but I can handle it”?
“I should be doing better by now.”
“Recovery takes time. I can work on progress instead of expecting perfection.”
This is the basic CBT triangle.
What are thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?
Believing something must be true because you feel it strongly.
What is emotional reasoning?
“If my PO is upset, it’s completely my fault.”
What is personalization?
What is behavioral activation?
This CBT strategy involves doing healthy actions even when motivation is low.
“My PO, Friend, Partner looked irritated, so I know I messed everything up.”
“I do not actually know what they were thinking. I can check the facts before assuming the worst.”