Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

"Should" Statements
Information handouts
ABC Model
Worksheets
Activity Diary (Hourly Time Intervals)
Worksheets
Activity Diary (No Time Intervals)
Worksheets
Activity Menu
Information handouts
Activity Planning
Worksheets
Activity Selection
Worksheets
All-Or-Nothing Thinking
Information handouts
Alternative Action Formulation
Worksheets
An Introduction To CBT (Psychology Tools For Living Well)
Books & Chapters
Anger - Self-Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Anger Decision Sheet
Exercises
Anger Diary (Archived)
Archived
Anger Self-Monitoring Record (Archived)
Archived
Anger Thought Challenging Record
Worksheets
Anxiety - Self-Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Anxiety Self-Monitoring Record (Archived)
Archived
Arbitrary Inference
Information handouts
Assertive Communication
Information handouts
Assertive Responses
Exercises
Attention - Self-Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Audio Collection: Psychology Tools For Mindfulness
Audio
Audio Collection: Psychology Tools For Overcoming PTSD
Audio
Autonomic Nervous System
Information handouts
Avoidance Hierarchy (Archived)
Archived
Before I Blame Myself And Feel Guilty
Exercises
Behavioral Activation Activity Diary
Worksheets
Behavioral Activation Activity Planning Diary
Worksheets
Behavioral Experiment
Worksheets
Behavioral Experiment (Portrait Format)
Worksheets
Belief Driven Formulation
Worksheets
Belief-O-Meter (CYP)
Worksheets
Boundaries - Self-Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Catastrophizing
Information handouts
Catching Your Thoughts (CYP)
Worksheets
CBT Appraisal Model
Worksheets
CBT Daily Activity Diary With Enjoyment And Mastery Ratings
Worksheets
CBT Thought Record Portrait
Worksheets
Challenging Your Negative Thinking (Archived)
Archived
Checking Certainty And Doubt
Information handouts
Classical Conditioning
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Anorexia Nervosa (Fairburn, Cooper, Shafran, 2003)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD: Veale, 2004)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Bulimia Nervosa (Fairburn, Cooper, Shafran, 2003)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Clinical Perfectionism (Shafran, Cooper, Fairburn, 2002)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Depersonalization (Hunter, Phillips, Chalder, Sierra, David, 2003)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Fear Of Body Sensations
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD: Dugas, Gagnon, Ladouceur, Freeston, 1998)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Health Anxiety (Salkovskis, Warwick, Deale, 2003)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Insomnia (Harvey, 2002)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Intolerance Of Uncertainty (Hebert, Dugas, 2019)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Low Self-Esteem (Fennell, 1997)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD: Salkovskis, Forrester, Richards, 1998)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Panic (Clark, 1986)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model of Perfectionism (Shafran, Egan, Wade, 2010)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD: Whalley, Cane, 2017)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD: Ehlers & Clark, 2000)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Social Phobia (Clark, Wells, 1995)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of The Relapse Process (Marlatt & Gordon, 1985)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Tinnitus (McKenna, Handscombe, Hoare, Hall, 2014)
Information handouts
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Of Childhood OCD: It's Only A False Alarm: Therapist Guide
Treatments That Work®
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Childhood OCD: It's Only a False Alarm: Workbook
Treatments That Work®
Cognitive Case Formulation
Worksheets
Cognitive Distortions – Unhelpful Thinking Styles (Common)
Information handouts
Cognitive Distortions – Unhelpful Thinking Styles (Extended)
Information handouts
Compassionate Thought Challenging Record
Worksheets
Core Belief Magnet Metaphor
Information handouts
Court Trial Thought Challenging Record (Archived)
Archived
Critical Care And PTSD
Information handouts
Critical Illness Intensive Care And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Guides
Cross Sectional Formulation
Worksheets
Daily Monitoring Form
Worksheets
Decatastrophizing
Exercises
Demanding Standards – Living Well With Your Personal Rules
Guides
Depression - Self-Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Discounting In Perfectionism – The Ratchet Effect
Information handouts
Disqualifying Others
Information handouts
Disqualifying The Positive
Information handouts
Dissociation - Self-Monitoring Record
Worksheets
Embracing Uncertainty
Exercises
Emotional Reasoning
Information handouts
Evaluating Unhelpful Automatic Thoughts
Guides
Evaluating Your Demanding Standards
Worksheets
Exploring Problems Using A Cross Sectional Model
Worksheets
Exposure And Response (Ritual) Prevention For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Second Edition): Therapist Guide
Treatments That Work®
Exposure And Response Prevention
Exercises
Exposure Practice Form
Exercises
Exposure Session Record
Worksheets
Exposures For Fear Of Appearing Anxious
Information handouts
Exposures For Fear Of Body Sensations
Information handouts
Exposures For Fear Of Breathlessness
Information handouts
Exposures For Fear Of Death
Information handouts
Exposures For Fear Of Flying
Information handouts
Exposures For Fear Of Heights
Information handouts
Exposures For Fear Of Illness
Information handouts
Exposures For Fear Of Losing Control Of Your Mind
Information handouts
Exposures For Fear Of Uncertainty
Information handouts
Exposures For Fear Of Vomiting
Information handouts
Externalizing
Information handouts
Facing Your Fears (CYP)
Exercises
Links to external resources
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Assessment
- Bern Inventory of Treatment Goals | Grosse, Grawe | 2002
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Assessment of Core CBT Skills (ACCS)
| Muse, McManus, Rakovshik, Kennerley
- Manual accs-scale.co.uk
- Feedback form accs-scale.co.uk
- Website accs-scale.co.uk
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Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale (CTRS)
| Young, Beck | 1980
- Scale
- Manual
Cognitive therapy competence / adherence measures
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Revised Cognitive Therapy Scale (CTS-R) – James, Blackburn, Reichelt Scale Manual
- Manual
- Scale
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Supervisor Competency Scale (SCS)
| Kennerley, Clohessy, Butler, Muse, Rakovshik | 2014
- Scale
Case Conceptualization / Case Formulation
- Cognitive conceptualisation (excerpt from Basics and Beyond) | J. Beck
- The case formulation approach to cognitive behavior therapy | Jacqueline Persons | 2014
- A case formulation approach to cognitive-behavior therapy | Jacqueline Persons | 2015
- Case formulation in CBT | Caleb Lack
- Developing a cognitive formulation | Michael Free
- Dysfunctional assumptions ideas
Information (Professional)
- A therapist’s guide to brief cognitive behavioral therapy | Cully, Teten | 2008
- Working with Schemas, Core Beliefs, and Assumptions | Frank Wills | 2008
- Problem solving (OCT Practical Guides | Helen Kennerley | 2016
- Cognitive- behavioural therapy An information guide | Neil Rector | 2010
Presentations
- Making CBT Work (Working with your CBT therapist / Making your CBT therapist work with you) | Paul Salkovskis
- The unified protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders | Ellen Frank, Fiona Ritchey | 2015
- Transdiagnostic treatments for anxiety disorders | Martin Anthony | 2013
- The role of a case conceptualization model and core tasks of intervention | Donald Miechenbaum | 2014
Treatment Guide
- A manual of cognitive behavior therapy for people with learning disabilities and common mental disorders | Hassiotis, Serfaty, Azam, Martin, Strydom, King | 2012
Video
- CBT case formulation | Jacqueline Persons
Recommended Reading
- Arch, J. J., & Craske, M. G. (2009). First-line treatment: a critical appraisal of cognitive behavioral therapy developments and alternatives. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 32(3), 525-547
- Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: a review of meta-analyses. Cognitive therapy and research, 36(5), 427-440
- Padesky, C. A., Mooney, K. A. (1990). Clinical tip: presenting the cognitive model to clients. International Cognitive Therapy Newsletter, 6, 13-14
- A provider’s guide to brief cognitive behavioral therapy | Cully, Dawson, Hamer, Tharp | 2021
- Williams, C., & Garland, A. (2002). A cognitive–behavioural therapy assessment model for use in everyday clinical practice. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 8(3), 172-179.
- Garland, A., Fox, R., & Williams, C. (2002). Overcoming reduced activity and avoidance: a Five Areas approach. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 8(6), 453-462.
- Williams, C., & Garland, A. (2002). Identifying and challenging unhelpful thinking. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 8(5), 377-386.
- Wright, B., Williams, C., & Garland, A. (2002). Using the Five Areas cognitive–behavioural therapy model with psychiatric patients. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 8(4), 307-315.
- Schema change processes in cognitive therapy | Padesky | 1994
What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Assumptions of CBT
- people actively process information;
- our appraisals (the way that we think and interpret events) determine how we feel;
- dysfunctional thinking and biases in information processing (cognition/thinking) are responsible for the problems that people experience;
- different problems are associated with different cognitive themes (cognitive specificity theory): depression is associated with loss and defeat; anxiety is associated with danger and threat; obsessive-compulsive disorder is associated with inflated responsibility; substance abuse is associated with permissive beliefs; eating disorders are associated with self-criticism; social anxiety is associated with fear of evaluation; and PTSD is associated with appraisals of immediate threat;
- the thoughts that we have can be ‘distorted’ or biased. Common biases include over-generalization, arbitrary inference, selective abstraction, and catastrophizing;
- changing how we think and act will impact how we feel: cognition, emotion, and behavior interact in a reciprocal manner;
- psychopathology is a result of an interaction between stress and vulnerability;
- cognition happens at multiple levels (Alford & Beck, 1997) and all can influence the way that we feel and behave: preconscious, unintentional, automatic (e.g., negative automatic thoughts); the conscious level (e.g., if a patient is asked to explain the meaning of an automatic thought); and the metacognitive level (beliefs about beliefs);
- experiences, memories, thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs are encapsulated as ‘schemas’ and which may become activated and influence our perceptions and behaviors.
Principles of CBT
Judith Beck (1995) identified 11 principles of the practice of cognitive behavioral therapy, and these were expanded by Wills (2009):
- cognitive behavioral therapists use formulation to focus their therapeutic work
- cognitive behavioral therapists use formulation to tackle interpersonal and alliance issues
- cognitive behavioral therapy requires a sound therapeutic relationship
- cognitive behavioral therapists stress the importance of collaboration in the therapeutic relationship
- cognitive behavioral therapy is brief and time-limited
- cognitive behavioral therapy is structured and directional
- cognitive behavioral therapy is problem- and goal-oriented
- cognitive behavioral therapy initially emphasizes a focus on the present
- cognitive behavioral therapy uses an educational model
- homework and self-practice is a central feature of cognitive behavioral therapy (incorporating the use of CBT worksheets)
- cognitive behavioral therapists teach clients to evaluate and modify their thoughts
- cognitive behavioral therapy uses various methods to change cognitive content including thought records, behavioral experiments, surveys
- cognitive behavior therapy uses a variety of methods to promote behavioral change including exposure, behavioral experiments, role-play.
Procedures and Techniques of CBT
- Data gathering and symptom monitoring are used to understand problems and to measure change. CBT is an evidence-based approach that relies upon accurate data gathering regarding symptoms and experiences.
- Behavioral activation is a set of techniques for encouraging engagement in meaningful activity and is an effective treatment for depression.
- Case formulation is a method for understanding the origin and maintenance of a problem in cognitive and behavioral terms. CBT therapists may use a mixture of cross-sectional formulation to understand difficulties in the here-and-now, longitudinal formulation to understand the origins and precipitants of a problem, and cognitive behavioral models to understand the mechanisms underlying a problem.
- Cognitive restructuring describes techniques for changing what we think. It often involves the use of thought records, behavioral experiments, data gathering, or psychoeducation.
- Exposure is a technique from behavior therapy that is extensively used by CBT therapists, particularly for the treatment of anxiety. ‘Facing your fears’ is an essential behavioral component of CBT.
- Problem solving describes a series of techniques that are often taught as part of a CBT intervention. Effective problem solving helps people to make adaptive choices.
- Socratic methods are used by CBT therapists to help their clients explore what they know, and to form their own opinions on a topic. Aaron Beck encouraged the use of Socratic-like technique in his original treatment manual “use questioning rather than disputation and indoctrination … it is important to try to elicit from the patient what he is thinking rather than telling the patient what the therapist believes he is thinking” (Beck et al, 1979).
References
- Alford, B. A., & Beck, A. T. (1997). The relation of psychotherapy integration to the established systems of psychotherapy. Journal of psychotherapy integration, 7(4), 275-289.
- Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford.
- Beck, J. S. (1995). Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: Guilford.
- Wills, F. (2009). Beck’s cognitive therapy. CBT Distinctive Features Series. New York: Routledge.