Cognitive restructuring
Cognitive restructuring – is a technique that helps people change the way they think. It is part of numerous types of psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Cognitive restructuring involves slowly replacing belief with one that is more accurate or helpful. Instead of predicting that everyone will dislike them if they show their true personality, a person might work toward a belief that some people will like them, while others might not — and that this is okay. The aim of this is to reduce the impact that unhelpful thinking styles have on a person’s well-being.
It may help a person think differently about a wide range of things, such as:
1.Relationship problems.
2.Low self-esteem.
3.Depression.
4.Anxiety.
5.Insomnia.
6.Stress.
Cognitive restructuring involves first teaching clients to recognize automatic, maladaptive thoughts. By drawing links between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, clients learn that certain thoughts can trigger negative consequences. Then, clients are shown how to evaluate the accuracy of their thoughts—certain thoughts, termed cognitive distortions, are inaccurate beliefs about the self or the world which tend to be negatively skewed. For example, a client with depression might have the thought, “no one cares about me.” The CBT therapist would teach the client how to look at all the evidence related to this thought and evaluate whether or not it is accurate. In cases where the negative thought is inaccurate or distorted, which is most often the case, clients are taught to restructure the thought by replacing it with a more accurate thought. Revised thoughts are not necessarily more positive, but more accurate. From a constructivist perspective, cognitive restructuring is comparable to the process of accommodation.
A therapist can help you learn which cognitive distortions are affecting you. They can also explain how and why a thought is irrational or inaccurate. A therapist can also help you learn how to “question” faulty thought patterns and redesign them to be more positive.
Here’s a brief guide to some of the strategies involved in cognitive restructuring:
1.Self-monitoring.
2.Questioning your assumptions.
3.Gathering evidence.
4.Performing a cost-benefit analysis.
5.Generating alternatives.
Most of the time, cognitive restructuring is collaborative. A patient typically works with a therapist to identify faulty thought patterns and replace them with healthier, more accurate ways of looking at events and circumstances.
Rebecca Joy Stanborough. (2023). How to Change Negative Thinking with Cognitive Restructuring. Retrieved from: https://shorturl.at/GlvZH.
Michelle L. Davis., Jasper A.J. Smits. (2017). Learning Principles in CBT. Cognitive Restructuring. The Science of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Retrieved from: https://shorturl.at/vs2Z9.
Zawn Villines. (2020). Cognitive restructuring and its techniques. Retrieved from: https://shorturl.at/O67fv.