Cognitive restructuring
Encyclopedia
Cognitive restructuring, sometimes used synonymously with Debating, is the process of learning to identify irrational or maladaptive thoughts and challenge their veracity using strategies such as logical disputation.
Another more simple definition of cognitive restructuring is the procedure for modifying erroneous, self-imposed roles .
Various types of therapy utilize the process of cognitive restructuring, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Therapy (RET). CBT consists of the general technique of cognitive restructuring and a core procedure of the Socratic Method
. . A number of studies demonstrate considerable efficacy in using CR-based therapies .
A number of cognitive restructuring-based handbooks have also been published .
Cognitive restructuring involves 4 steps:
There are 6 types of automatic thoughts: (1) self-evaluated thoughts, (2) thoughts about the evaluations of others, (3) evaluative thoughts about the other person with whom they are interacting, (4) thoughts about coping strategies and behavioral plan, (5) thoughts of avoidance, and (6) any other thoughts that were not categorized.
By completing the process of cognitive restructuring, an individual can better:
, Anxiety disorders collectively , Bulemia , Social Phobia
, Borderline Personality Disorder
, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) , and Gambling
, just to name a few.
When utilizing cognitive restructuring in Rational Emotive Therapy (RET), the emphasis is on 2 central notions: (1) thoughts affect human emotion as well as behavior and (2) irrational beliefs are mainly responsible for a wide range of disorders. RET also classifies 4 types of irrational beliefs: dire necessity, feeling awful, cannot stand something, and self-condemnation. It is described as cognitive-emotional retraining. . The rationale used in cognitive restructuring attempts to strengthen the client's belief that 1) 'self-talk
' can influence performance, and 2) in particular self-defeating thoughts or negative self-statements can cause emotional distress
and interfere with performance, a process that then repeats again in a cycle.
When utilizing cognitive restructuring in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), it is combined with psychoeducation, monitoring, in vivo experience, imaginal exposure, behavioral activation and homework assignments to achieve remission . The Cognitive behavioral approach is said to consist of 3 core techniques. These are cognitive restructuring, training in coping skills, and problem solving .
(ACT)) attempts to change the function of negative thoughts rather than change their content (as seen in cognitive restructuring). A common technique that uses cognitive defusion is the “milk exercise” in which the person rapidly repeats a self-referential thought (such as “fat”) in hope of reducing the discomfort associated with it .
Critics of cognitive restructuring accuse the process of challenging dysfunctional thoughts like getting patients to “master” and “control” their thoughts. They feel as though cognitive restructuring aims to “teach clients to become better suppressors and avoiders of their unwanted thoughts”, leaving them vulnerable to potentially experiencing negative emotions. They feel that cognitive defusion is dominant over cognitive restructuring since CD works by changing the functions of thoughts (by helping patients adopt a new relationship to them) rather than directly changing the content of negative thoughts in CR.
The positive results achieved through cognitive defusion sessions are immediate. Cognitive restructuring shows less immediate improvement since real-world practice is often required to master the skills of cognitive defusion. However, the results are similar after a week of homework .
and classical conditioning
are involved at the core of making changes in cognition observed in cognitive restructuring and the Socratic Method
.
“In some forms of CBT, cognitive restructuring is the most essential and theoretically the main mechanism of change. The general principle behind cognitive restructuring is examining a specific incident and the thoughts that occurred during that incident (sometimes elicited by the thought record). The patient is asked to recall in detail the context of the situation that led to an intensification of his or her emotional experience (e.g., “I felt depressed and anxious when I went to school”). This is to facilitate elicitation of “hot” cognitions: thoughts that are emotionally laden. Then, the patient is asked to describe what thoughts came to mind within that context (e.g., “I thought I will never pass the exam”). The thoughts are then evaluated for their basis in logic and reality, with the goal of helping the patient reevaluate distorted thoughts in a way that is more accurate, and likely to decrease the negative emotional reaction that they had within the situation (e.g., “How many times have you failed before? What is the worst thing that would happen if you failed?” leading to answers like “Well, I got an 80 once when I was sick,” with the therapist then asking, “So what is the likelihood that you will get a 60?” and the patient saying, “Yeah, I guess I exaggerate a lot when I feel bad. I really will do ok on the exam”). There are a number of variations of how cognitive restructuring is done. The most traditional method with Beckian CBT is via the thought record (also used for monitoring described above, but with a greater emphasis on the thoughts and evaluations of the thoughts). In some forms of CBT, part of the evaluation process is labeling the type of cognitive distortion that characterizes the specific thought such as all or none thinking, dis¬qualifying the positive, mental filtering, jumping to conclusions, catastrophizing, emotional reasoning, should statements, and personalization. ”
References
Another more simple definition of cognitive restructuring is the procedure for modifying erroneous, self-imposed roles .
Various types of therapy utilize the process of cognitive restructuring, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Therapy (RET). CBT consists of the general technique of cognitive restructuring and a core procedure of the Socratic Method
Socratic method
The Socratic method , named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas...
. . A number of studies demonstrate considerable efficacy in using CR-based therapies .
A number of cognitive restructuring-based handbooks have also been published .
Cognitive restructuring involves 4 steps:
- (1) Identification of problematic cognitions known as “Automatic Thoughts” (ATs) which are dysfunctional or negative view of the self, world, or future
- (2) identification of the cognitive distortions in the ATs
- (3) rational disputation of ATs with Socratic dialogue, and
- (4) development of a rational rebuttal to the ATs.
There are 6 types of automatic thoughts: (1) self-evaluated thoughts, (2) thoughts about the evaluations of others, (3) evaluative thoughts about the other person with whom they are interacting, (4) thoughts about coping strategies and behavioral plan, (5) thoughts of avoidance, and (6) any other thoughts that were not categorized.
By completing the process of cognitive restructuring, an individual can better:
- Gain awareness of detrimental thought habits
- Learn to challenge them
- Substitute life-enhancing thoughts and beliefs
Clinical applications
The process of cognitive restructuring has been utilized in different types of therapy, such as CBT, to help individuals experiencing a variety of psychiatric conditions. These include DepressionDepression
Depression or depress may refer to:-Medicine:* Depression , a state of low mood and aversion to activity** Mood disorder, a class of mental illnesses featuring depressed mood...
, Anxiety disorders collectively , Bulemia , Social Phobia
Social phobia
Social phobia may refer to any of the following conditions:* Social anxiety disorder – a diagnosis referring to clinically excessive social anxiety...
, Borderline Personality Disorder
Borderline personality disorder
Borderline personality disorder is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person , characterized by depth and variability of moods.The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the...
, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) , and Gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, just to name a few.
When utilizing cognitive restructuring in Rational Emotive Therapy (RET), the emphasis is on 2 central notions: (1) thoughts affect human emotion as well as behavior and (2) irrational beliefs are mainly responsible for a wide range of disorders. RET also classifies 4 types of irrational beliefs: dire necessity, feeling awful, cannot stand something, and self-condemnation. It is described as cognitive-emotional retraining. . The rationale used in cognitive restructuring attempts to strengthen the client's belief that 1) 'self-talk
Intrapersonal communication
Intrapersonal communication is language use or thought internal to the communicator. It can be useful to envision intrapersonal communication occurring in the mind of the individual in a model which contains a sender, receiver, and feedback loop.-Definitions:...
' can influence performance, and 2) in particular self-defeating thoughts or negative self-statements can cause emotional distress
Emotional distress
Mental distress or anxiety suffered as a response to a sudden, severe, and saddening experience.Emotional distress may refer to:* Law of torts:** Intentional infliction of emotional distress** Negligent infliction of emotional distress* Medicine:...
and interfere with performance, a process that then repeats again in a cycle.
When utilizing cognitive restructuring in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), it is combined with psychoeducation, monitoring, in vivo experience, imaginal exposure, behavioral activation and homework assignments to achieve remission . The Cognitive behavioral approach is said to consist of 3 core techniques. These are cognitive restructuring, training in coping skills, and problem solving .
Cognitive Defusion vs Cognitive Restructuring
Contrasting to cognitive restructuring, Cognitive Defusion (used in acceptance and commitment therapyAcceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and commitment therapy or ACT is a cognitive–behavioral model of psychotherapy. It is an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies mixed in different ways with commitment and behavior-change strategies, to increase psychological...
(ACT)) attempts to change the function of negative thoughts rather than change their content (as seen in cognitive restructuring). A common technique that uses cognitive defusion is the “milk exercise” in which the person rapidly repeats a self-referential thought (such as “fat”) in hope of reducing the discomfort associated with it .
Critics of cognitive restructuring accuse the process of challenging dysfunctional thoughts like getting patients to “master” and “control” their thoughts. They feel as though cognitive restructuring aims to “teach clients to become better suppressors and avoiders of their unwanted thoughts”, leaving them vulnerable to potentially experiencing negative emotions. They feel that cognitive defusion is dominant over cognitive restructuring since CD works by changing the functions of thoughts (by helping patients adopt a new relationship to them) rather than directly changing the content of negative thoughts in CR.
The positive results achieved through cognitive defusion sessions are immediate. Cognitive restructuring shows less immediate improvement since real-world practice is often required to master the skills of cognitive defusion. However, the results are similar after a week of homework .
Learning & cognitive restructuring
Some researchers suggest that operant conditioningOperant conditioning
Operant conditioning is a form of psychological learning during which an individual modifies the occurrence and form of its own behavior due to the association of the behavior with a stimulus...
and classical conditioning
Classical conditioning
Classical conditioning is a form of conditioning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov...
are involved at the core of making changes in cognition observed in cognitive restructuring and the Socratic Method
Socratic method
The Socratic method , named after the classical Greek philosopher Socrates, is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas...
.
Applications within therapy
The following short excerpt from Huppert, J.D. (2009), concerning a therapists view on how cognitive restructuring is incorporated into some common issues encountered within CBT.“In some forms of CBT, cognitive restructuring is the most essential and theoretically the main mechanism of change. The general principle behind cognitive restructuring is examining a specific incident and the thoughts that occurred during that incident (sometimes elicited by the thought record). The patient is asked to recall in detail the context of the situation that led to an intensification of his or her emotional experience (e.g., “I felt depressed and anxious when I went to school”). This is to facilitate elicitation of “hot” cognitions: thoughts that are emotionally laden. Then, the patient is asked to describe what thoughts came to mind within that context (e.g., “I thought I will never pass the exam”). The thoughts are then evaluated for their basis in logic and reality, with the goal of helping the patient reevaluate distorted thoughts in a way that is more accurate, and likely to decrease the negative emotional reaction that they had within the situation (e.g., “How many times have you failed before? What is the worst thing that would happen if you failed?” leading to answers like “Well, I got an 80 once when I was sick,” with the therapist then asking, “So what is the likelihood that you will get a 60?” and the patient saying, “Yeah, I guess I exaggerate a lot when I feel bad. I really will do ok on the exam”). There are a number of variations of how cognitive restructuring is done. The most traditional method with Beckian CBT is via the thought record (also used for monitoring described above, but with a greater emphasis on the thoughts and evaluations of the thoughts). In some forms of CBT, part of the evaluation process is labeling the type of cognitive distortion that characterizes the specific thought such as all or none thinking, dis¬qualifying the positive, mental filtering, jumping to conclusions, catastrophizing, emotional reasoning, should statements, and personalization. ”
Sources
- A free Thinking Matters Facilitator Manual
- National Institute of Corrections
- An Overview of Cognitive-behavioral Group Therapy for Social Phobia
- Cognitive Restructuring - ACCI's list of erroneous beliefs of the criminal mind.
- Cognitive Restructuring Techniques - as pioneered by Albert Ellis, Aaron BeckAaron T. BeckAaron Temkin Beck is an American psychiatrist and a professor emeritus in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He is widely regarded as the father of cognitive therapy, and his pioneering theories are widely used in the treatment of clinical depression...
, and others. - Cognitive restructuring worksheets - Tools that therapists use to help guide cognitive restructuring
References
See also
- CognitionCognitionIn science, cognition refers to mental processes. These processes include attention, remembering, producing and understanding language, solving problems, and making decisions. Cognition is studied in various disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science...
- Cognitive scienceCognitive scienceCognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on how information is processed , represented, and transformed in behaviour, nervous system or machine...
- Cognitive psychologyCognitive psychologyCognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
- Philosophy of mindPhilosophy of mindPhilosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain. The mind-body problem, i.e...
- ThoughtThought"Thought" generally refers to any mental or intellectual activity involving an individual's subjective consciousness. It can refer either to the act of thinking or the resulting ideas or arrangements of ideas. Similar concepts include cognition, sentience, consciousness, and imagination...