A-B-C Model of Personality
Temporal sequence of antecedents, behavior, and consequences. The theory that people's problems do not stem from activating events but, rather, from their beliefs about such events. Thus, the best route to changing problematic emotions is to change one's
Arbitrary Inferences
A form of cognitive distortion that refers to making conclusions without supporting and relevant evidence.
Automatic Thoughts
Maladaptive thoughts that appear to arise reflexively, without conscious deliberation.
Cognitive Behavior Modification (CBM)
A therapeutic approach that focuses on changing the client's self-verbalizations.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
A treatment approach that aims at changing cognitions that are leading to psychological problems.
Cognitive Distortions
In cognitive therapy, the client's misconceptions and faulty assumptions. Examples include arbitrary inference, selective abstraction, overgeneralization, magnification and minimizations, labeling and mislabeling, dichotomous thinking, and personalization
Cognitive Restructuring
A process of actively altering maladaptive thought patterns and replacing them with constructive and adaptive thoughts and beliefs.
Cognitive Structure
The organizing aspect of thinking, which monitors and directs the choice of thoughts; implies an "executive processor," one that determines when to continue, interrupt, or change thinking patterns.
Cognitive Therapy (CT)
An approach and set of procedures that attempts to change feelings and behavior by modifying faulty thinking and believing.
Cognitive Triad
A pattern that triggers depression.
Collaborative Empiricism
A strategy of viewing the client as a scientist who is able to make objective interpretations. The process in which therapist and client work together to phrase the client's faulty beliefs as hypotheses and design homework so that the client can test thes
Constructivist Approach
A recent development in cognitive therapy that emphasizes the subjective framework and interpretations of the client rather than looking to the objective bases of faulty beliefs.
Constructivist Narrative Perspective
An approach that focuses on the stories that people tell about them themselves and others regarding significant events in their lives.
Coping Skills Program
A behavioral procedure for helping clients deal effectively with stressful situations by learning to modify their thinking patterns.
Dichotomous Thinking
A cognitive error that involves categorizing experiences in either-or extremes.
Distortion of Reality
Erroneous thinking that disrupts one's life; can be contradicted by the client's objective appraisal of the situation.
Homework
Carefully designed and agreed upon assignments aimed at getting clients to carry out positive actions that induce emotional and attitudinal change. These assignments are checked in later sessions, and clients learn effective ways to dispute self-defeating
Internal Dialogue
The sentences that people tell themselves and the debate that often goes on "inside their head"; a form of self-talk, or inner speech.
Irrational Belief
An unreasonable conviction that leads to emotional and behavioral problems.
Musturbation
A term coined by Ellis to refer to behavior that is absolutist and rigid. We tell ourselves that we must, should, or ought to do or be something.
Overgeneralization
A process of holding extreme beliefs on the basis of a single incident and applying them inappropriately to dissimilar events or settings.
Personalization
A tendency for people to relate external events to themselves, even when there is no basis for making this connection.
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
A theory that is based on the assumption that cognitions, emotions, and behaviors interact significantly and have a reciprocal cause-and-effect relationship.
Rational Emotive Imagery
A form of intense mental practice for learning new emotional and physical habits. Clients imagine themselves thinking, feeling, and behaving in exactly the way they would like to in everyday situations.
Rationality
The quality of thinking, feeling, and acting in ways that will help us attain our goals. Irrationality consists of thinking, feeling, and acting in ways that are self-defeating and that thwart our goals.
Relapse Prevention
Procedure for promoting long-term maintenance that involves identifying situations in which clients are likely to regress to old patterns and to develop coping skills in such situations.
Schema
Core beliefs that are centrally related to dysfunctional behaviors. The process of cognitive therapy involves restructuring distorted core beliefs (or schema).
Selective Abstraction
A cognitive distortion that involves forming conclusions based on an isolated detail of an event.
Self-Instructional Therapy
An approach to therapy based on the assumption that what people say to themselves directly influences the things they do. Training consists of learning new self-talk aimed at coping with problems.
Self-Talk
What people "say" to themselves when they are thinking. The internal dialogue that goes on within an individual in stressful situations.
Shame-Attacking Exercises
A strategy used in REBT therapy that encourages people to do things despite a fear of feeling foolish or embarrassed. The aim of the exercise is to teach people that they can function effectively even if they might be perceived as doing foolish acts.
Socratic Dialogue
A process that cognitive therapists use in helping clients empirically test their core beliefs. Clients form hypotheses about their behavior through observation and monitoring.
Stress Inoculation
Individuals are given opportunities to deal with relatively mild stress stimuli in successful ways, so that they gradually develop a tolerance for stronger stimuli.
Stress Inoculation Training (SIT)
A form of cognitive behavior modification developed by Donald Meichenbaum that is a combination of information giving, Socratic discussion, cognitive restructuring, problem solving, relaxation training, behavioral rehearsals, self-monitoring, self-instruc
Therapeutic Collaboration
A process whereby the therapist strives to engage the client's active participation in all phases of therapy.