This information handout explains selective attention and its role in clinical problems.
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.
An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.
Selective attention can be conceptualized as a maintaining process (mechanism) within CBT. Biases in perception can lead to biases in information processing negative emotion. This information handout explains selective attention and its role in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Selective attention can perpetuate many mental health difficulties. This resource:
Focusing on negative aspects of situations, perpetuating low mood.
Heightened vigilance to threat cues, sustaining anxiety.
Attention narrowed to danger or trauma-related cues, maintaining a sense of current threat.
Use the handout to explain selective attention to clients.
Discuss how selective attention contributes to problem maintenance.
Examine how this information connects to clients' difficulties.
This Selective Attention handout is a simple one-page illustration of the concept. Selective attention is mechanism which serves to maintain a wide variety of clinical problems. For example, many unhelpful thinking styles (e.g., 'black & white thinking', 'magnification & minimisation', 'mental filtering') are examples of selective attention and underpin conditions such as depression or anxiety. Self-focused attention (another form of selective attention) is critical in the maintenance of social anxiety disorder.
