Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Made Simple: 10 Strategies for Managing Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Panic and Worry (Sheldon Press)

by Seth J. Gillihan

Chapter Summary and Homework In this chapter, we built on the practices from chapter 4 as we identified and challenged core beliefs. We saw how these beliefs do double duty, as they not only lead to negative automatic thoughts but also create a mental filter that can interfere with our ability to evaluate those automatic thoughts objectively. It’s not easy to alter our core beliefs, and doing so takes persistent practice. Plan to be patient with yourself as you modify these deeply held beliefs. The homework for this chapter includes multiple techniques for identifying and changing your core beliefs: 1 Note recurrent themes in your negative automatic thoughts. 2 Use the downward arrow technique to explore the meaning of your automatic thoughts. 3 Review aspects of your past that may have shaped your core beliefs. 4 Test past and current evidence that may or may not support your core beliefs. 5 Practice leading with the positive in situations that are likely to trigger automatic thoughts related to your core beliefs. 6 Keep a daily record of three things that went well, and why. 7 And finally, over time you can shift toward simply shrugging off inaccurate thoughts and continuing on your way.