Cognitive Restructuring: What It Is, Theory, Techniques And Examples

Cognitive restructuring is one of the most recurrent techniques within the cognitive-behavioral paradigm despite the difficult application it may have. Cognitive restructuring aims to help the patient achieve the following objectives:

1. Identify relevant cognitions.
2. Understand the impact of these on emotional and behavioral reactions.
3. Consider cognitions as hypotheses to be discussed and tested.
4. Verbally and behaviorally challenge inadequate cognitions.
5. Modify these cognitions and replace them with other more appropriate ones to achieve the desired emotional and behavioral change. These alternative cognitions must be at least relatively plausible to the patient and easy to remember and use.

If you want to better understand this therapeutic process, we recommend reading this article on cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Mainly, cognitive restructuring It is based on Albert Ellis’s ABC model. This model states that a real-life situation or event (A) activates a series of irrational or inappropriate beliefs and thoughts, which may or may not be conscious, as well as certain cognitive processes and/or pre-established schemes (B). These processes then give rise to one or more behaviors, emotions and physical reactions (C).

In this therapeutic model we observe how beliefs, schemas and, ultimately, everything related to cognition (B), acts as an intermediary between the event (A) and the observable behavior, emotion or physical reaction (C). Since A is an event that has already occurred and therefore cannot be modified, modifying B would result in a different C.

Therefore, according to this perspective, we can conclude that what gives rise to behavior emotion or specific physical reaction it is not the event per se, but the interpretation that is made of this event and the related beliefs and schemas which would give rise to C. If you want to know more about this model, don’t miss this article on the emotional ABCs by Albert Ellis.

In this sense, 3 can be identified theoretical budgets that underlie cognitive restructuring and are based on the Ellis model:

• The way people cognitively structure their experiences has a fundamental influence on how they feel and act and the physical reactions they have.
• People’s cognitions can be identified.
• It is possible to modify people’s cognitions.

As cognitive restructuring is complex, to carry it out several techniques must be used, such as those we will explain below, depending on the moment of treatment the patient is in.

1. Techniques to identify thoughts and beliefs

If what you want is to help identify beliefs and thoughts, the best thing would be a perform self-registration such as those proposed by Ellis, Clark or Wells. You must keep in mind that with the use of this cognitive restructuring technique some difficulties may arise due to the following factors:

• The thoughts are so normalized that they do not attract the attention of patients.
• Anxious thoughts can generate avoidance in the patient.
• Thoughts that appear in the form of images can be difficult to capture.
• Lack of congruence between the current emotional state and the one that arises when cognitions appear.

Other techniques that can be useful to identify beliefs apart from self-recording are:

• Downward arrow technique to identify the basic belief underlying the thought.
• Skills Quizzes or dysfunctional beliefs.
• Show examples that help observe the impact that cognitions have on thinking.

2. Techniques to modify thoughts and beliefs

How is cognitive restructuring done in cognitive behavioral therapy? These are the therapeutic methodologies used to modify thoughts and beliefs:

• Socratic dialogue : consists of asking questions that help question the veracity of beliefs and their foundation.
• Direct information contrary to the patient’s inappropriate thoughts in order to generate a didactic debate that helps the modification.
• Examine the usefulness of negative thoughts through questions : To do this, the “what would happen if…” technique can help, so that the patient considers what would happen if everything he thinks were true and dismantles the beliefs based on his responses.
• Modeling and role playing to incorporate positive changes in thinking.

3. Strategies to address irrational ideas

The cognitive restructuring exercises that allow us to address irrational ideas are:

• Question its veracity.
• Look for evidence for and against.
• Reduce to absurdity.
• Rational emotive imagination.

Any cognitive restructuring carried out must be adjusted to each case, depending on the particular problem to be treated and the individual characteristics of each patient. Even so, we can offer you a general guide to use as a reference.

Specifically, the steps of cognitive restructuring are:

1. Application of self-registration to collect the 3 variables A, B and C that help detect the initial triggering events, evaluate the consequences they have for the individual and delve into the 4 beliefs that can maintain the consequences. According to Godoy⁽¹⁾These beliefs are denial, trembling or catastrophism, low tolerance for frustration, and condemnation and self-condemnation.
2. Application of the didactic debate technique or Socratic dialogue.
3. Belief replacement or thought.
4. Automation of thought.

Some of the therapies that include cognitive restructuring in their treatment are:

• Ellis’s rational-emotive-behavioral therapy.
• Beck’s cognitive therapy.
• Meichenbaum’s self-instruction training.

Depending on the objective of the therapy, it is advisable to use one or the other or combine them. As you can see, there are many methods to work on cognitive restructuring, so to clarify how this process works, below we show you an example of the results it offers:

• Negative thought to modify : I’m not capable, I’m never going to achieve it.
• Modified thinking with cognitive restructuring : Right now I don’t have the necessary tools to achieve my goal because it is something I have not done before and it may be complicated for me at first.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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