Mental Filter

A brief introduction to cognitive distortions

Cognitive distortions, cognitive biases, or ‘unhelpful thinking styles’ are characteristic ways in which our thoughts can become biased (Beck, 1963). As conscious beings we are always interpreting the world around us, trying to make sense of what is happening. Sometimes our brains take ‘short cuts’ and we think things that are not completely accurate, and different cognitive short cuts result in different kinds of bias or distortions in our thinking. Sometimes we might jump to the worst possible conclusion (“this rough patch of skin is cancer!”), at other times we might blame ourselves for things that are not our fault (“If I hadn’t made him angry he wouldn’t have hit me”), and at other times we might rely on intuition and jump to conclusions (“I know that they all hate me even though they’re being nice”).

Different cognitive biases are associated with different clinical presentations. For

Many people struggle with mental filtering, and it sounds as though it may also be relevant to you. Would you be willing to explore it with me?

Clinicians might begin by providing psychoeducation about mental filters and automatic thoughts more generally. Consider sharing some of these important details:

• Automatic thoughts spring up spontaneously in our minds, usually in the form of words or images.
• They are often on the ‘sidelines’ of our awareness. With practice, we can become more aware of them. It is a bit like a theatre – we can bring our automatic thoughts ‘centre stage’. 
• Automatic thoughts are not always accurate: just because you think something, it doesn’t make it true.
• Automatic thoughts are often inaccurate in characteristic ways. One common type of bias in automatic thoughts is ‘mental filtering’: we sometimes focus on one detail and don’t look the bigger picture. 
• Signs that you are mentally filtering include discounting certain experiences

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Beck, A. T. (1979). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. Meridian.

Beck, J. S. (2012). Annual reviews conversations presents: A conversation with Aaron T. Beck. Annual Reviews. Retrieved from: https://www.annualreviews.org/userimages/ContentEditor/1351004835908/AaronTBeckTranscript.pdf.

Beck, J. S. (1995). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond. Guilford Press. 

Blackburn, I. M., & Eunson, K. M. (1989). A content analysis of thoughts and emotions elicited from depressed patients during cognitive therapy. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 62, 23-33. DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1989.tb02807.x.

Blake, E., Dobson, K. S., Sheptycki, A. R., & Drapeau, M. (2016). The relationship between depression severity and cognitive errors. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 70, 203-221. DOI: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2016.70.2.203.

Bedrosian, R. C., & Beck, A. T. (1980). Principles of cognitive therapy. In M. J. Mahoney (Ed.), Psychotherapy process: Current issues and future directions (pp.127-152). Springer. 

Burns, D. D. (2020). Feeling great: The revolutionary new