![]() ![]() The final step is to generate a balanced opinion which fairly, dispassionately, and realistically represents all of the evidence presented. Once clients have examined the thought from both of these perspectives, they are encouraged to take the role of the jury: to weigh the evidence and to come to a verdict on the truthfulness of the original thought. The client is then encouraged to adopt the role of a prosecutor to state the case for the truthfulness of the accusation, and the defense to argue why the accusation is untrue. The worksheet guides clients through the process of stating the negative automatic thought as an ‘accusation’. It uses the metaphor of a courtroom trial, which can help clients to externalize, ‘de-center’, and take the role of an objective observer. This worksheet is designed to help clients to evaluate the evidence for and against their negative automatic thoughts. Thought records exist in multiple variants, depending on the needs and abilities of the client. CBT therapists use a variety of techniques to help their clients to develop cognitive restructuring skills, but a mainstay is the ‘thought record’. The aim of these techniques is not to ‘think happy thoughts’ or to replace negative thoughts with positive ones, rather, it is to overcome biases and to think accurately. ‘Cognitive restructuring’ describes the category of techniques that cognitive therapists use to help their clients to overcome their cognitive biases and think differently. The Thought Record – Courtroom Trial tool is a cognitive restructuring worksheet. Beck (1963) and Burns (1980) have described common cognitive biases which are outlined in more detail in our information handout Unhelpful Thinking Styles. For example, people who suffer from certain types of anxiety often ‘catastrophize’, and people who are depressed often discount positive information. However, automatic thoughts are often inaccurate – biased in characteristic ways – and there is considerable evidence that different mental health problems are associated with particular biases in thinking. Some negative thoughts are accurate representations of the world (e.g., thinking “He could hurt me too” after seeing an acquaintance act violently would be both negative and accurate). 34)Īutomatic thoughts that result in negative emotions (e.g., sadness, anxiety, anger) are commonly described as Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs). “Automatic thoughts… are situation specific and may be considered the most superficial level of cognition” (Beck & Beck, 1995, p. Automatic thoughts are not facts, but they are so immediate and familiar that we often assume them to be true (e.g., your parent asks to speak to you and you think “It’s bound to be bad news”).
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