Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques

  • Journaling

  • Cognitive Distortion Examination

  • Desensitization

  • Guided Discussion

CBT and Cognitive Reappraisal

  • Cognitive Reappraisal: A CBT technique to change the way situations are viewed to alter their emotional impact. It increases positive emotions and reduces negative ones.

    • Standard in CBT, an evidence-based therapy.

  • Neurological Correlates: Reappraisal uses prefrontal cortex control regions to modulate emotional responses in the amygdala. Negative reappraisal dampens activity in the amygdala, lateral temporal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex, while activating the PFC, including dmPFC, dlPFC, and vlPFC.

    • Important regions: OFC (emotional salience), ACC (emotional state interpretation), and AIC (conscious appraisal).

    • EEG studies show cognitive reappraisal reduces the magnitude of late positive potential (LPP) in response to negative stimuli.

  • Positive vs. Negative Reappraisal: Negative reappraisal reframes situations as less bad, while positive reappraisal finds positive aspects. Both shorten responses in the amygdala, insula, and superior temporal gyrus, and lengthen responses in prefrontal regions. Positive reappraisal increases medial prefrontal cortex activity and engagement with the emotional stimulus.

  • The Feeling Tone of Thoughts: Thoughts and emotions are linked; awareness of the feeling tone behind thoughts helps choose positive ones. Prioritize feeling good.

  • Follow Your Bliss: Intend to think good thoughts, appreciate things, and avoid criticism. Following your bliss leads to opportunities and supportive relationships.

  • Importance of Grounding Reappraisal in Reality: Positive reappraisal is more effective when grounded in reality. Challenging reality shows smaller increases in positive emotion. Suppression leads to less positive and more negative emotion, worse interpersonal functioning, and lower well-being.

  • Future Gain Reappraisal Tactic: Focus on how the situation has made you stronger, what you can learn, and potential better outcomes. See challenges as stepping stones.

  • Viewing Failure as Feedback: Negative emotions indicate what you really want. Success often follows failure; consider Abraham Lincoln's example.

  • Reframing Our View of Stress: Viewing stress as enhancing can lower stress levels and health problems, and increase efficiency. High Emotional Intelligence (EI) individuals may experience greater stress but thrive on challenges.

  • Be Grateful for Challenges: Challenges are necessary for growth.

  • Reframing Our View of Work: Reframe work and education as privileges. How we perceive work matters more than the work itself.

Behavioral Activation Therapy

  • Mapping your life

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Many subtypes exist, focusing on changing maladaptive thinking. Newer variants focus on changing one’s relationship to maladaptive thinking.

  • Aims to help people:

    • Minimize negative thoughts.

    • Cultivate positive thoughts.

  • Caveat: Reappraisal is adaptive when stressors are uncontrollable but maladaptive when stressors are controllable.

Example: Tugade & Fredrickson (2004) study: Cognitive reappraisal group showed shorter cardiovascular reactivity and greater positive emotions, regardless of resilience.

Defensive Pessimism

  • Using fear of failure to motivate success. In the long run, leads to burnout and unhappiness.

Age and Reappraisal

  • Reappraisal effectiveness increases with age. fMRI study showed reappraisal success and prefrontal activity increased with age, but no change in amygdala activation.

Behavioral Activation

  • An effective treatment for emotion dysregulation.

For depression

  • Rate pleasure and accomplishment during activities.

  • Maintain regular routines with high-scoring activities for pleasant experiences, social support, and mastery.

  • Start with easy goals and advance to challenging ones.

OUTDOOR & INDOOR activities are listed as examples.

Behavioral Activation Chart example provided.

For depression or stress/anxiety:

  • Hourly self-monitoring chart tracks activities and their impact on mood for a week.

  • Develop understanding of the relationship between actions and emotions.

  • Emphasize attending to experience over rumination, quality sleep, and improved social functioning.

Mapping Your Life

  • Introduce negative rituals, like Internet-free time. Combine with CBT reframing.

  • Limiting time-killing activities is more effective than rewards or social support.

Start Small

  • Begin with small steps to motivate change. Examples include putting on exercise shoes, taking smaller food portions, or leaving a book out