Mechanisms

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help your clients to live happier and more fulfilling lives. Psychology Tools for Living Well is a self-help course ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/a-guide-to-emotions-psychology-tools-for-living-well/

Activity diaries can be used for activity monitoring during an assessment phase of therapy, symptom monitoring during therapy, correlating activity wi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/activity-diary/

Activity diaries can be used for activity monitoring during an assessment phase of therapy, symptom monitoring during therapy, correlating activity wi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/activity-diary-no-times/

Disputing thoughts is a critical skill in cognitive therapy. The Anger Thought Monitoring Record helps clients to identify and challenge their angry t ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/anger-thought-challenging-record/

Psychology Tools for Overcoming Panic takes a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach to this common anxiety problem. This chapter discusses avoi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/approach-instead-of-avoiding-psychology-tools-for-overcoming-panic/

Communicating assertively is an essential skill for maintaining healthy self-esteem and strong relationships. This information handout describes the k ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/assertive-communication/

Avoidance and safety-seeking behavior serves to maintain anxiety, and exposure to the fear stimuli/situation is an effective treatment for anxiety. Th ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/avoidance-hierarchy/

Behavioral activation (BA) is an effective treatment for depression. Different behavioral activation protocols include a variety of treatment componen ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-activation-activity-diary/

Behavioral experiments are planned experiential activities to test the validity of a belief. They are one of the most powerful techniques available to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-experiment/

Behavioral experiments allow individuals to test the validity of their beliefs and assumptions. They are a core experiential technique for therapeutic ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-experiment-portrait-format/

Cognitive behavioral theory proposes that our thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the here-and-now are influenced by our schemas / core beliefs / assu ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/belief-driven-formulation/

Before thoughts can be examined or challenged they must be ‘caught’ – they must be noticed and distinguished from events and feelings. The Catch ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/catching-your-thoughts-cyp/

The CBT Appraisal Model worksheet is a transdiagnostic formulation tool. The centrality of appraisals underpins all of the disorder-specific cognitive ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cbt-appraisal-model/

The CBT Thought Record is an essential tool in cognitive behavioral therapy. Thought challenging records help people to evaluate their negative automa ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cbt-thought-record/

A cornerstone of cognitive behavioral therapy is that an individual’s interpretation of an event determines how they feel and behave. We all experie ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/challenging-your-negative-thinking/

Psychologists have discovered interesting relationships between Checking, Certainty, And Doubt. This information handout contains an exercise helpful ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/checking-certainty-and-doubt/

Classical conditioning is a process by which stimuli become associated with responses. This information handout describes key principles of Classical ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/classical-conditioning/

Individuals who have experienced abuse often focus on their own actions (or inactions) and blame themselves for their own abuse. This client informati ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/coercive-methods-for-enforcing-compliance/

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by restriction of energy intake and intense fear of gaining weight. For women, the lifetime preva ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-anorexia-nervosa-2003/

Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) experience distress associated with their body image. The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Body Dysmorphi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-body-dysmorphic-disorder-bdd-2004/

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging. Among young women, the point prevalence of bulimia is about 1 ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-bulimia-nervosa-2003/

Fear of bodily sensations is present in a number of conditions, most notably panic disorder. The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Fear Of Bodily Sensatio ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-fear-of-bodily-sensations-2018/

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) report significant worry which they find difficult to control and experience as distressing. Numer ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad-1998/

Health anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, and a high level of anxiety about health. People with h ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-health-anxiety-2003/

Health anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, and a high level of anxiety about health. People with h ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-health-anxiety-2018/

Low self-esteem is characterized as a negative sense of the self and co-occurs with many other mental health problems. Although not formally represent ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-low-self-esteem-1997/

The essential insight of the cognitive behavioral model of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is that it is the client’s interpretation of the intr ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-1998/

The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Panic identifies catastrophic misinterpretation of body sensations as a criticial maintenance factor which serves to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-panic-1986/

Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a form of dizziness which is thought to be maintained by psychological factors. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-persistent-postural-perceptual-dizziness-pppd-2017/

The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Tinnitus identifies cognitive, behavioral, and perceptual changes which operate to maintain tinnitus perception and ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-tinnitus-2014/

Core beliefs (schemas) are self-sustaining. They act to ‘attract’ confirmatory evidence and ‘repel’ (or distort) disconfirmato ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/core-belief-magnet-metaphor/

Thought challenging records are commonly used in CBT to help people to evaluate their negative automatic thoughts for accuracy and bias. This Court Tr ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/court-trial-thought-challenging-record/

Thought challenging records are commonly used in CBT to help people to evaluate their negative automatic thoughts for accuracy and bias. The Daily Rec ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/daily-record-of-dysfunctional-thoughts/

The Dysfunctional Thought Record is a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) tool to record and challenge dysfunctional thoughts. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/dysfunctional-thought-record/

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) was first described in individuals suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Many behaviors associated with G ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/embracing-uncertainty/

Many clients find it helpful to recognize the range of actions that are motivated by different emotional states. This worksheet encourages clients to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/emotions-motivate-actions/

Exposure And Response Prevention (ERP, EX/RP) is an effective treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This CBT worksheet guides therapists ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-and-response-prevention/

Exposure is an effective treatment for many forms of anxiety. The Exposure Practice Form is a CBT worksheet which guides therapists and clients throug ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-practice-form/

One cognitive error which commonly results in distress is to act on our opinions as though they were facts. This CBT exercise helps clients to practic ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fact-or-opinion/

The Fight Or Flight (CYP) information handout has been specifically designed for younger children and includes carefully simplified language. The full ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fight-or-flight-cyp/

The Habituation information sheets are designed to help clinicians to explain the concept of habituation and its role in exposure therapy. The handout ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/habituation/

Individuals with health anxiety experience clinically significant distress associated with health concerns. This thought-challenging record enables cl ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/health-anxiety-thought-record/

Survivors of loss or trauma often think “If only …”. Hindsight Bias is a cognitive bias / cognitive illusion which makes events seem mor ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/hindsight-bias/

Misappraisals of body sensations trigger emotional and physiological reactions of fear and heightened arousal. These feelings motivate behavioral resp ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/interoceptive-exposure/

Interpersonal issues and relationship problems form an important part of what clients bring to therapy: they might present as clients’ current conce ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/interpersonal-beliefs-and-styles/

Uncertainty is a normal part of life – we can never be 100% sure about what will happen next. Many people feel good about uncertainty and live lives ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/intolerance-of-uncertainty/

Intrusive (unwanted, involuntary) memories are a common feature of PTSD, but also depression and other conditions. This Intrusive Memory Record is des ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/intrusive-memory-record/

Intrusive Thoughts, Images, And Impulses that are experienced as distressing are a feature of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). They are also a com ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/intrusive-thoughts-images-and-impulses/

An important treatment implication of the cognitive behavioral model of OCD is that clinicians can work at the level of the meaning of the intrusion. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/maintenance-of-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/

Despite its position as the leading treatment technique for anxiety disorders, not all clients respond to exposure therapy and some individuals relaps ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/maximizing-the-effectiveness-of-exposure-therapy/

Part of traditional CBT treatment for OCD is exposure to situations which trigger obsessions (classically accompanied by the prevention of the associa ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/ocd-hierarchy/

Operant conitioning / instrumental learning is a mechanism by which behaviors can be strengthened or weakened over time. This information handout desc ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/operant-conditioning/

Pacing is an evidence-based approach to increasing activity and fitness, and in reducing overall pain and fatigue. It is designed to prevent ‘bo ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/pacing-for-pain-and-fatigue/

Some cognitive change can happen quickly – for example challenging negative automatic thoughts. Other cognitive structures such as schemas are m ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/positive-belief-record/

Effective problem solving is an essential life skill and this Problem Solving worksheet is designed to guide children and adolescents through steps wh ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/problem-solving-cyp/

The Process-Focused Case Formulation encourages clinicians to make hypotheses regarding mechanisms or processes which they believe may be maintainin ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/process-focused-case-formulation/

The CBT model proposes that how we think affects the way we feel. Challenging our unhelpful thoughts (cognitive restructuring) is an essential skill w ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/prompts-for-challenging-negative-thinking/

CBT therapists often describe finding it difficult to apply CBT skills when clients bring relational problems to therapy. Familiar methods of visua ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/reciprocal-cbt-formulation/

Anorexia nervosa is characterized the restriction of energy intake, leading to a severely low weight in the context of an individual’s age, sex, and ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/recognizing-anorexia-nervosa/

Bulimia nervosa is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating and compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain. Recognizing Bulimia Nervosa ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/recognizing-bulimia-nervosa/

Self-monitoring of thoughts, feelings, and symptoms is an essential skill in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The Rumination Diary helps clients to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/rumination-diary/

Rumination-Focused CBT (RF-CBT) takes a functional-analytic approach to rumination and aims to help depressed clients to identify the contexts in whic ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/rumination-self-monitoring-record/

Safety behaviors are actions carried out with the intention of preventing a feared catastrophe. In the short-term they often give a sense of relief, b ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/safety-behaviors/

Safety behaviors are actions carried out with the intention of preventing a feared catastrophe. In the short-term they often give a sense of relief, b ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/safety-behaviors-example/

Core beliefs (schemas) are self-sustaining. They act to ‘attract’ confirmatory evidence and ‘repel’ or ‘distort’ d ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/schema-bias/

Beck’s cognitive model proposes that cognition and perception in the here-and-now is influenced by our ‘schemas’ which shape our per ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/schema-formulation/

Core beliefs (schemas) are self-sustaining. They act to ‘attract’ confirmatory evidence and ‘repel’ or ‘distort’ d ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/schema-metaphors/

Stages of Social Anxiety is a CBT worksheet to explore maintaining factors with a client and then to explore possible treatment strategies. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/stages-of-social-anxiety/

Stimulus Discrimination is designed to help people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to ‘retrain their brain’ in order to attend automat ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/stimulus-discrimination-audio/

The thought record is an essential tool in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Thought challenging records help people to evaluate their negative auto ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/thought-challenging-record-7-column/

Thinking is often biased in particular ways and individuals often have their own characteristic patterns of bias. The Thought Distortion Monitoring Re ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/thought-distortion-monitoring-record/

Suppression is a common approach to unwanted thoughts, worriers, doubts, or urges. Unfortunately, there are good reasons why this strategy fails. This ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/thought-suppression-and-intrusive-thoughts/

Depression is associated with cognitive biases, one of which is a failure to notice positive information. This information handout presents this conce ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/thoughts-and-depression/

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help your clients to live happier and more fulfilling lives. Psychology Tools for Living Well is a self-help course ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/thoughts-in-cbt-psychology-tools-for-living-well/

Fairburn, Cooper & Shafran (2003) argue that eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia share common maintenance mechanisms despite difference ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/transdiagnostic-cognitive-behavioral-model-of-eating-disorders-2003/

A ‘transdiagnostic process’ is the label given to a mechanism which is present across disorders and which is either a risk or maintaining factor f ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/transdiagnostic-processes/

Human thinking is subject to a number of characteristic biases. Cognitive restructuring is the process of helping individuals to overcome their biases ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/unhelpful-thinking-styles/

“What if…?” questions are a powerful way in which anxious individuals generate or maintain anxious states, particularly in generaliz ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/what-if/

Rumination and repetitive thought is a transdiagnostic maintenance process underpinning a range of difficulties. This information sheet explores the c ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/what-is-rumination/