The Reattribution Technique In Psychotherapy: What It Is And How It Is Used
Everything we do and don’t do has some effect on the world. We have a certain capacity for control over our actions: we choose what we want to do and what we do (although sometimes it is imposed on some people), something that ultimately gives us the ability to direct our own lives
Now, we must also keep in mind that our action and intervention in the world is limited: there are many elements that may or may not come together to create a certain situation. In this sense, attributing causes to a specific event can be much more difficult than it seems. However, it is common that on a mental level we quickly try to give an explanation in which what happens has one or a few factors that generate it.
In some cases this attribution may be unrealistic and cause discomfort, and it may even become a pattern in which the causes of positive and negative events are rigidly considered and become a problem. Fortunately, through various techniques we can modify this pattern. One of them is the reattribution technique widely used by psychologists, which we are going to talk about here.
The reattribution technique is a fundamental approach utilized in psychotherapy to help individuals gain insight into their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, particularly those related to negative or maladaptive patterns. By facilitating a deeper understanding of internal experiences and external stressors, this technique empowers clients to reframe their perceptions and develop more adaptive coping strategies. In this article, we delve into the principles, process, and clinical applications of the reattribution technique in psychotherapy.
The reattribution technique is rooted in the cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) framework, which emphasizes the connection between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It involves exploring the underlying beliefs and assumptions that contribute to an individual’s psychological distress or interpersonal difficulties. Through collaborative exploration and inquiry, therapists help clients identify alternative explanations for their experiences and challenge distorted or unhelpful thinking patterns.
What is the reattribution technique?
The reattribution technique is a psychological intervention technique frequently used in clinical practice either directly or as part of some more complex program or treatment (such as Beck’s cognitive therapy).
It is a cognitive technique that tries to work on the attribution of the causes of the patients and is characterized by being based on helping the patient to assess what the causes of a given situation may be in order to discuss and modify their feelings. beliefs regarding said causality, redirecting the attribution made by the patient towards a more realistic, objective and functional perspective
Therapists provide clients with psychoeducation about the cognitive-behavioral model and the role of cognitive distortions in shaping perceptions and emotional responses. Clients learn to recognize common cognitive distortions, such as black-and-white thinking, catastrophizing, and personalization, which contribute to negative self-perceptions and emotional distress.
2. Identifying Automatic Thoughts
Clients learn to identify automatic thoughts – spontaneous, often unconscious cognitions that arise in response to specific situations or triggers. Therapists guide clients in monitoring their thoughts and emotions, using techniques such as thought records or journals to track cognitive patterns and triggers.
3. Challenging Cognitive Distortions
Therapists help clients challenge cognitive distortions by examining the evidence for and against their automatic thoughts. Clients learn to evaluate the accuracy and validity of their beliefs, considering alternative interpretations and perspectives. This process fosters cognitive flexibility and encourages clients to generate more balanced and realistic explanations for their experiences.
4. Reattribution and Reframing
In the reattribution phase, therapists guide clients in exploring alternative explanations for their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Clients consider external factors, such as situational context, past experiences, and social influences, that may contribute to their distress. By reframing their experiences in a broader context, clients gain a sense of agency and empowerment, reducing feelings of self-blame or hopelessness.
Where does it start from?
The reattribution technique is based on the idea of locus of control, that is, from the fact that when analyzing a given situation we usually give the existence of said situation specific causes that can be either internal (that is, the person is responsible for it) or external (the environment, other people or abstract elements such as chance), global or specific, stable (the cause is permanent) or unstable (the cause is variable).
The realization of this attribution allows us to try to give a cause to what happens , but sometimes the result of this attribution is unrealistic and dysfunctional and can generate anxiety, anguish, sadness or discomfort among other possible effects. It is at this point that the reattribution technique is useful.
What’s your objective?
The main objective of the use of this reattribution technique is to help the patient modify his locus of control, that is, to be able to modify the attribution of causes he makes for positive and negative events. In this sense, we work by making the person evaluate the different factors that may be influencing or participating in a certain event, situation and problem.
Thus, what is intended is reduce or eliminate cognitive biases linked to a given attribution of the causes of a situation.
This technique allows the person to gradually appreciate that there are a large number of factors that can influence certain situations or problems to occur or be resolved in a certain way, so that in the case of negative events the subject does not Attribute exclusive responsibility for the result and blame oneself in the case of negative events, or do not attribute successes and positive results solely to luck.
There are different variants of this technique, often specialized in different types of problems. To give an example, we can find Goldberg’s symptom reattribution technique, focused on the attribution of physical symptoms to psychological causes in cases of disorders such as somatization.
The reattribution technique is applicable to a large number of situations in which the person tends to maintain a rigid locus of control , unrealistic, biased or dysfunctional. In this sense we can be talking about both clinical and non-clinical problems, although its use in the former is much better known.
Below are some of the problems in which it is usually used.
1. Depression
Among the various disorders in which it is usually used, especially mood disorders One of the most frequent is major depression, in which we can generally find the presence of cognitive biases that make the interpretation of oneself, the world and the future negative and aversive.
At the level of internal, stable and global locus of control for negative events, while successes and positive events are usually associated with external, non-specific and unstable causes (such as luck).
2. Disorders linked to anxiety
Anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder, are another type of problem that we can treat with the reattribution technique.
Specifically, what can be treated in this way is the anticipation of panic attacks and the attribution of certain symptoms to causes that are not necessarily dangerous. An example can be found in tachycardia and increased cardiorespiratory rate.
The anxiety of a generalized anxiety disorder can also benefit from the use of this technique by helping to objectify the possible causes of their discomfort and trying to promote a more objective view of the situations experienced.
3. Acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder
In addition to mood disorders, another type of situation in which this type of technique can be useful is in the context of an acute stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. Although these disorders already have different methodologies that allow them to be treated effectively, variants of the reattribution technique can be proposed. in the case of people who claim guilt for the traumatic event in question.
This is the case of people who have the so-called “Survivor Syndrome”, people who have overcome an illness that has killed many others and feel guilty or undeserving of it, people who survive a traffic accident in which one or the rest of people have died, people who have experienced a war conflict (both civilian and military) or cases such as people who have suffered rape or sexual abuse and blame themselves for it.
4. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
One of the main characteristics that many subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder share is a very high level of self-doubt and a tendency to feel guilty for their obsessive thoughts, or that they have anxiety about the responsibility they would believe they had if the content of their thought became reality
For example, a person who has obsessive thoughts of contagion and rituals around cleaning because of them will tend to feel guilty if they do not perform the rituals and make sure that everything is properly disinfected, or might feel responsible if someone around them falls ill. .
In this sense, the reattribution technique can be useful as a way for the subject to try to see the situation in a more objective way and assess that there are various variables that could explain why the reason for their anxiety occurred and that would not have anything to do with it. with his own performance. The aim would be to reduce the tendency to take responsibility or blame for those situations whose evocation generates anxiety.
5. Somatization disorder
Somatization disorder, along with other somatoform problems , is one of the disorders that can benefit from this type of techniques. And in this case the reattribution technique can be used to help the patient identify the possible psychological causes of the ailment that he notices on a physical level.
6. Hypochondria
Although the approach to hypochondria requires a more in-depth treatment, variants of the reattribution technique can also be used so that those who suffer from it learn to assess the possible causes of their discomfort. without associating them with a physical illness
Now, we must be very careful that the possible causes that the subject cites are not diseases but those elements that generate the feeling of being sick and what factors may be involved.
7. Relationship Issues
The reattribution technique can be applied to interpersonal conflicts and relationship issues by helping clients understand the role of attributional biases and communication patterns in their interactions. Clients learn to consider alternative perspectives and attributions, fostering empathy and understanding in their relationships.
8. Stress Management
For individuals experiencing stress or burnout, the reattribution technique offers strategies for identifying and addressing sources of stressors. By examining the interaction between internal and external stressors, clients develop adaptive coping strategies and resilience to manage stress more effectively.
9. Adaptive disorder and other problems
Layoffs, separations, divorces, relationship or family problems, workplace or school harassment… all of this can generate a high level of stress and discomfort that is beyond the person’s control and cause great suffering, without meeting the criteria to consider that they suffer from depression or an anxiety disorder. These are cases in which symptoms typical of these two types of disorder may appear and that usually appear reactively to a situation (without which the symptoms would not be present).
We are talking about adaptive disorder, which can also benefit from the reattribution technique in those cases in which the problem raises or generates an interpretation or attribution of causes that are dysfunctional for the person.
In addition, even if a disorder does not appear as such, it is also possible to work with this technique preventively, especially with a population with rigid beliefs, hyperresponsibility or low self-esteem.
The reattribution technique is a valuable tool in psychotherapy for promoting cognitive restructuring, insight development, and emotional regulation. By facilitating a collaborative exploration of clients’ thoughts and perceptions, therapists empower individuals to challenge maladaptive cognitive patterns and cultivate more adaptive coping strategies. Through application across diverse clinical contexts, the reattribution technique supports clients in achieving greater self-awareness, resilience, and psychological well-being.
