Week 12: REBT & CBT

Fundamental shift

Psychological distress is maintained by cognitive processes; changing cognitions leads to changes in affect and behavior

Schemas

Mental frameworks shaped by life experiences; filter how we perceive the world.

Schema Activation

Events trigger schemas, which influence perception and behavior.

Schema Shifting

Requires significant personal/cultural shifts (e.g., 9/11, COVID).

Therapeutic interventions can help modify maladaptive schemas.

Biases

Schemas reinforce consistent information and distort/discount incompatible evidence

Cognitive Triad (Beck)

Self ("I’m worthless").

World ("Nobody cares about me").

Future ("Things will never improve").

ABC Model (D & E)

A (Activating Event) → B (Belief) → C (Consequence: emotional/behavioral reaction).

D (Disputing) → E (Effective New Philosophy).

Irrational Beliefs

Lead to self-defeat; replaced with flexible preferences.

Goals of REBT

Teach unconditional self-acceptance (USA), other-acceptance (UOA), and life-acceptance (ULA)

Techniques in REBT (congitive, emotive, & behavioral)

Cognitive: Disputing irrational beliefs, homework (e.g., tracking "musts").

Emotive: Role-playing, humor, shame-attacking exercises.

Behavioral: Skills practice, exposure.

Levels of Cognition: CBT

Automatic thoughts → Intermediate beliefs → Core beliefs/schemas

The 3 C’s of CBT

Catch the thought.

Check its accuracy/helpfulness.

Change to a more adaptive thought (using TRU: True, Realistic, Useful).

Therapeutic Process in CBT (4 steps)

1. Build an alliance, set goals.

2. Identify automatic thoughts/cognitive distortions (e.g., overgeneralization, personalization).

3. Develop problem-solving skills.

4. Relapse prevention (generalize skills).

Differences from REBT (3)

Less dogmatic; avoids labeling thoughts as "irrational."

More exploratory (but less than psychodynamic approaches).

Focus on collaborative empiricism (client discovers meanings).

Mental Filter

Magnifying negative information while filtering out or disqualifying the positives.

Emotional Reasoning

Believing that your thoughts must be true due to the associated emotional response can be misleading; often leads to misunderstandings

Catastrophizing

Catastrophizing involves your thoughts or mental imagery jumping to worst-case scenarios.

Overgeneralization

Making broad negative conclusions based on limited information or events is a common cognitive distortion.

Labeling

Assigning global negative traits to oneself or others based on limited events is harmful.

Personalization and Blame

Reducing the complex causations of events to either oneself or others is a distortion that often leads to guilt and resentment

Black and White Thinking

The tendency to use either/or categories, such as good/bad or right/wrong, can lead to rigid thinking

Mind Reading

Assuming knowledge of other people's thoughts or intentions can lead to misunderstandings and anxiety

"Should" Statements

Criticizing yourself or others with "should," "must," or "need to" statements can create undue stress.

Fortune Telling

Assuming knowledge and accurate predictions regarding the future is a cognitive distortion that often leads to anxiety

Disqualifying the Positive

Rejecting positive experiences by insisting they "don't count" for some reason or another

Pros of CBT

Strong evidence base (effective for depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc.).

Structured, time-limited, skill-focused.

Empowers clients for long-term change.

Cons of CBT

Requires client engagement (homework, self-reflection).

May increase short-term anxiety.

Less effective for nonverbal clients or complex trauma.

Confident – Her Skin & REBT/CBT

Displays cognitive distortions (disqualifying the positive)