Welcome back this is the 4th week of the group, but most of you have at least a week or two to

make up.
Let’s start with a check in of how everyone’s week has been, any issues, how was your anger
levels.
This week we are talking about Cognitive Restructuring and the ABCD model.

Cognitive Restructuring is the therapeutic process of identifying and challenging negative and

irrational thoughts.

-These negative and irrational thoughts are what is referred to as Cognitive Distortions

-The process of cognitive restructuring comes from the evidence-based practice of Cognitive

Behavioral Therapy or CBT is based on the idea that how you think determines how you feel,

and how you behave.

-CBT looks at the situation that has occurred as stated in the ABCD model it is referred to as the

activating event, that is followed by the thought or belief that the event elicited, then there is an

emotion tied to the thought-what feeling occurs as a result, or the emotional consequence of the

thought, and lastly is the behavior or the action in response to the emotion, the dispute instead of

acting immediately evaluate your thoughts, identify irrational thoughts and dispute them.

Here is a good example of how the models work.

Situation: It’s your birthday and you’re expecting a phone call from your best friend, but it never

comes. You called them on their birthday, so why didn’t they call you?

Thought: They not care enough about you to remember your birthday?

Emotion: Hurt & anger

Behavior: You can let your emotions control you and in turn make a rash decision to send your

friend a nasty message. Or you can dispute your thought process.

When challenging your thought process, you look at where did this feeling of hurt and anger
come from? It wasn’t the lack of a phone call that caused the hurt and anger. It was the thoughts
about the lack of a phone call that hurt and made you angry. What if instead of taking the
missing phone call personally you had thought:
a) My friend is so forgetful? I bet they don’t know anyone’s birthday
 b) Maybe something came up unexpectedly, and they’re busy
c) We did talk earlier in the week, so I guess it isn’t a big deal.
Thoughts play a powerful role in determining how people feel and how they act. If someone
thinks positively about something, they’ll probably feel positively about it. Conversely, if they
think negatively about something-whether or not that thought is supported by evidence-they will
feel negatively.
Cognitive restructuring starts with the identification of irrational negative thoughts (cognitive
distortions). Cognitive distortions can be tricky, they can happen so quickly that they come and
go before we’ve noticed them. They are more like a reflex than an intentional behavior.
Everyone experiences cognitive distortions to some degree, but in their more extreme form they
can be maladaptive and harmful.
As I go over cognitive distortions think about what ones you have fallen pray to in the past and
circle or mark it.
Some of the most common cognitive distortions are
Magnification and Minimizations: This is exaggerating or minimizing the importance of an
event. One might belief their own achievements are unimportant or that their mistakes are
excessively important.
Catastrophizing: Seeing only the worst possible outcome of a situation.
Overgeneralization: Making broad interpretations from a single or few events. Like “I felt
awkward during my job interview. I am always so awkward”.
Magical thinking: The belief that acts will influence unrelated situations. “I am a good person-
bad things shouldn’t happen to me.”
Personalization: The belief that one is responsible for events outside of their own control. “My
wife/husband is always upset. They would be fine if I did more to help them”.
Jumping to conclusions: Interpreting the meaning of a situations with little or no evidence.
Mind reading: interpreting the thoughts and beliefs of others without adequate evidence. “She/he
would not go on a date with me. She/he probably things I’m ugly”.
Fortune telling: The expectations that a situation will turn out badly without adequate evidence.
Emotional reasoning: The assumptions that emotions reflect the way things really are. “I feel like
a bad friend, therefore I must be a bd friend.”
Disqualifying the positive: Recognizing only the negative aspects of a situation while ignoring
the positive. One might receive many compliments on an evaluation but focus on the single piece
of negative feedback.
Should statements: The belief that things should be a certain way. “I should always be friendly”.
All-or-nothing thinking: Thinking in absolutes such as “always:, “never”, or “every”. “I never do
a good enough job on anything.”
-Being able to identify your own cognitive distortions takes practice, it’s not natural, especially
during a fit of rage. To hone in on the most important cognitive distortions start by looking for
negative emotions tied to the thoughts. If you have trouble identifying emotions focus on
negative behaviors. This is where being familiar with your anger triggers and warning signs
come in handy.
-A good way to begin identifying your past cognitive distortions is by using a thought record.
With practice and using a thought record you will be able to learn to identify cognitive
distortions in the moment, and immediately challenge them.
-Each row of a though record represents a unique situation. The headings for each column will
differ slightly between thought records but generally they include “situation, thoughts, feelings,
consequences, and alternative thought”.
-Sometimes just being aware of a cognitive distortion is enough to eliminate it. For those that are
more ingrained and require extra work you will utilize the cognitive restructuring techniques.
1) Socratic Questioning- Once a cognitive distortion is identified it will be assessed by asking a
series of questions. For example you might ask, is this thought realistic, what is the evidence for
this thought, am I basing my thoughts on facts or on feelings.
2) Decatastrophizing-Most often cognitive distortions are just an exaggerated view of reality.
With this technique we ask very simple questions: What if, or What’s the worst that could
happen.
3) Putting thoughts on trial: This is where you are a defense attorney, a prosecutor, and a judge.
--This is where you start by defending your negative thought. What is the argument for why the
thought is true-stick to verifiable facts no opinions.
-Now you are the prosecutor, what is the evidence against the negative thought-stick to facts.
-Now look at the facts on both sides what do you think what is your verdict. The verdict is your
rational thought.
 Cognitive Distortions

Magnification and Minimization-Exaggerating or minimizing the importance of events.

Catastrophizing-Seeing only the worst possible outcomes

Overgeneralization-Making broad interpretations from a single event.

Magical Thinking-The belief that acts will influence unrelated situations.

Personalization-The belief that one is responsible for events outside of their own control.

Jumping to Conclusions-Interpreting the meaning of a situation with little evidence.

Mind Reading-Interpreting the thoughts and beliefs of other without evidence.

Fortune Telling-The expectations that a situation will turn out badly without evidence.

Emotional Reasoning-The assumption that emotions reflect the way things really are.

Disqualifying the Positive-Recognizing only the negative aspects of a situation and

Should Statements-Belief that things should be a certain way.

All-or-Nothing Thinking-Thinking in absolutes such as always, never, or every.