The Belief-Driven Formulation worksheet aids therapists and clients in understanding how core beliefs influence current thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
A fillable version of the resource. This can be edited and saved in Adobe Acrobat, or other PDF editing software.
An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.
Cognitive behavioral theory proposes that our thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the here-and-now are influenced by our schemas / core beliefs / assumptions. This case conceptualization (formulation) diagram helps therapists and clients to explore these influences.
By using this resource, therapists can:
Negative interpretations linked to negative beliefs about the self.
Anxious thoughts driven by vulnerability-related beliefs.
Maladaptive interpersonal behaviors stemming from negative beliefs about others.
Help the client identify a recent situation that was challenging.
Develop a descriptive formulation of the event, including key thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations the client experienced.
Introduce the client to the concept of underlying core beliefs.
Identify the core beliefs that the client holds about themselves, the world, or the future, which may have influenced how they interpreted the situation.
Examine the impact of these core beliefs, such as whether having different beliefs might have resulted in different interpretations.
Core beliefs are global, unconditional, and overgeneralized beliefs about the self, other people, and the world. According to the cognitive model, core beliefs influence the selection and interpretation of incoming information, and so contribute to information processing biases (Riso & McBride, 2007). They also impact memory recall, since individuals tend to remember congruent experiences (Clark & Beck, 2010). As a result, they exert a powerful influence - usually below the threshold of awareness - on how people think, feel, and behave across situations, as well as what they pay attention to.
Incorporating core beliefs into 'here-and-now' descriptive formulations broadens case conceptualizations and provides insight into their influence on maladaptive patterns of thinking, feeling, and behavior.
