The Uncovering Your Deeper Beliefs exercise aids clients in identifying underlying assumptions and core beliefs through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
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.
This exercise is specifically designed to help clients explore the deeper cognitive layers, starting with automatic thoughts and then exploring assumptions, and core beliefs. It facilitates a deeper understanding of how these beliefs influence thoughts and behaviors. By identifying these underlying beliefs, practitioners can support clients in achieving meaningful behavior change and preventing relapse.
Uncovering deeper beliefs is crucial in CBT to:
Targeting distorted cognitions that contribute to depressive symptoms.
Addressing fears and erroneous beliefs that exacerbate anxiety.
Identifying and challenging negative self-beliefs.
Uncovering beliefs impacting relationship dynamics.
Understanding and shifting the beliefs that hinder progress.
Clarify the purpose and steps of the exercise to the client.
Begin with a situation that evokes strong emotions.
Highlight the key thought or image related to the situation.
Use iterative questioning to uncover underlying beliefs.
Help the client articulate the discovered beliefs.
Encourage reflection on how these beliefs influence other areas of life.
Conduct the exercise multiple times for comprehensive insight.
Beck’s model identifies three levels of cognition essential in CBT: automatic thoughts, assumptions, and core beliefs. This exercise is grounded in the principle that targeting underlying assumptions and core beliefs promotes long-term behavior change and reduces relapse risk. While engaging in this exercise, therapists should:
Varieties of this exercise address different focus areas, such as beliefs regarding oneself, others, and the world, with distinct techniques tailored for anxiety and relationship issues.
This resource equips clinicians with a structured methodology to facilitate deep cognitive work, contributing to more lasting changes in clients' beliefs and behaviors.