Cognitive restructuring

step by step
How is it applied?
Cognitive restructuring (CR) a useful guide: Our life is not defined by
our experiences, but by how we interpret everything we live:
If I make a mistake, it means I am inept," "If someone shows up in
disagreeing with me means that you don't like me", "I am incapable", "I am
inferior," etc... Each one of us understands the world through
mental representations and totally subjective images, created based on
a personal mental representation, which often differs quite a bit from the
reality. In this way, our life, our feelings, and our
well-being largely depends on the thoughts we generate
brain

Cognitive restructuring (CR) is a cognitive technique used

to identify and correct these patterns of negative thinking. The
the objective sought by this technique is to modify the way in which
we interpret our experiences, the negative thoughts that
automatically arise and the subjective evaluations that we
they cause discomfort. Thanks to cognitive restructuring (CR),
we will learn to identify and question our thoughts
maladaptive, in order to replace them with more appropriate ones, that
allow to reduce or eliminate discomfort.
Cognitive restructuring is a psychological technique that can help us
help to modify certain distortions of thought that us
they cause discomfort.

What is cognitive restructuring?

Definition
Cognitive restructuring is a psychological technique that is
it is framed within cognitive-behavioral orientation. This
guidance has proven to be one of the most effective interventions
when dealing with anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, and others
many disorders.
The function of cognitive restructuring is to modify
irrational thoughts that cause us discomfort and replace them with
others more rational to improve the general mood.

Fundamentals of cognitive restructuring

This technique is based on the A-B-C model, where A represents the experiences
What we have, B are the cognitions or thoughts about these.
experiences and C is how we react and how we feel with
Regarding these. Therefore, depending on what B is like, the
cognitions, we will have better or worse reactions. These
Cognitions are modifiable.
The way in which our thoughts are structured influences
how we see the world, we understand our experiences, and for
consequently, in the emotions we feel. How we react to
what happens to us day by day is what determines how we feel and
how we act in the face of it. For example, imagine you are walking down the street
and you run into an acquaintance. You greet him but he does not respond.
greeting. You might think that he didn't greet you because he doesn't like you or
he is angry with you for something. At that moment, you start to give him
what have you done to make them angry with you and you feel
increasingly sad. However, if you think that it simply hasn't
seen because you are thinking about your things, your reaction will be much more
positive.

What does cognitive restructuring consist of?

Cognitive restructuring consists of the patient, with help
from the therapist, identify those irrational thoughts. Both go
discussing the validity and usefulness of having those thoughts, by means of
questions and behavioral experiments. And they are being sought
rational alternatives. A good therapist will not tell the patient what
thought is the valid one, but it helps him to find them for himself
same.
The authors of the restructuring
cognitive
Beck's cognitive therapy
According to Beck, emotional and/or behavioral disorders are a result
from a disturbance in the processing of information due to the
activation of dysfunctional ways of thinking that lead us to
to process the information in a biased way.
Beck's therapy is a structured, time-limited therapy and
problem-oriented aiming to relieve psychological distress. Its
the approach is psychoeducational and collaborative of "guided discovery".
That is to say, the therapist works with the patient to discover these.
beliefs and finding the rational alternative between the two.
According to Beck, early experiences (such as criticism or the
rejection from parents which creates dysfunctional beliefs (no
I'm worth nothing if I'm not loved). From there, any stressor,
As an active loss, that dysfunctional belief is generated.
negative automatic thoughts, which are the versions
simplified versions of these beliefs. These thoughts lead very to
often to disorders such as depression or anxiety.

Ellis's rational emotive therapy

The basic principle of Albert's cognitive restructuring therapy
Ellis argues that emotional disturbance is not caused by
directly by the situation, but by the interpretation made
about her. And when situations are interpreted based on beliefs
irrational discomfort appears.
What are irrational beliefs? Absolutist demands about
oneself, other people, and the world.
How do irrational beliefs affect us?
. They can produce thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that
have counterproductive, self-destructive consequences, and that
they interfere with the survival and happiness of the organism.
. They prevent us from achieving our objectives and goals.
. They immobilize us
. They cause us persistent discomfort.
. They distort reality
. They are illogical and unfounded evaluations.
How do we identify irrational beliefs?
. They produce intense and lasting negative emotions.
. They exaggerate the negative consequences of a situation.
accompanied by words like: horrible, terrible, unbearable, I am
tired of, this is crap...
. Those that reflect unrealistic demands and obligations on oneself or
others. The thoughts of it should be, it has to..., etc.
. Beliefs or thoughts about what is needed to be happy or
survive.
. Overgeneralizing and absolutist thoughts (everything, nothing,
never, always
Ellis's cognitive restructuring
Through Socratic debate or verbal persuasion, one becomes...
a series of questions to analyze the empirical evidence of thought
irrational. The consequences of that thought are evaluated and the
utility of this.

What are thoughts?

irrational?
Irrational thoughts orcognitive distortions, son
thoughts that have no rational basis. We all have them.
this kind of thoughts sometimes does not mean that we have
no disorder. Sometimes they do not pose any problem, but the
Most of the time they cause us discomfort. For this reason, it is important to know
identify them.
The following video explains what cognitive distortions are and
what to do with them.
Below, we list the most common distortions, although
there are many more.

1. Personalization: Taking things as if they were personal.

when it is not like that. Seeing events as consequences of
our actions. Like the example we previously provided,
to believe that an acquaintance did not greet me because he is angry
with me.
2. Mind reading: Guessing what others are thinking, when
really no one has that power and has no evidence that
they are thinking what we believe.
3. Negative predictions: Overestimating the likelihood of it happening
a negative event.
4. Underrating one's own ability: Thinking that we have less
capacity we have to face certain situations.
5. Catastrophize: To evaluate a situation as the worst that could happen.
For example: it is terrible and horrifying that the exam is canceled.
6. Biased attention to social rejection stimuli and little attention to the
signs of acceptance: For example, during a public presentation pay attention
attention to a person who is yawning but not to the rest of the people
that is interested.
7. Biased memory towards negative experiences and overlooking the positive ones.
positives: Think about how badly you have been through but not in the
good moments.
8. The 'shoulds' and 'have to': They are internal demands or obligations
about one's own abilities or those of others without thinking if they are
reasonable in the context or situation. For example: To be happy I must
to be loved by others, I must always stay calm, always
We must please others.
9. Dichotomous thinking. All or nothing: If I don't do everything perfectly,
better to do nothing.
10. Believing in a just world: The people who are unhappy are
because they deserve it
11. Believing that others need to know our needs: That is,
to believe that others can read our minds.
12. Expecting or intending for others to act as we believe they should.
correct: Not thinking that everyone is a certain way, and has lived their
experiences, and we should not expect others to think like
We are doomed to failure.
13. Base our personal value on the opinions of others: That is,
to believe everything that others say about us. 'I am a person'
selfish because such a person has told me this.
14. Selective abstraction: It is the process of focusing our attention on
a negative detail of a situation, seeing it in a negative light
in its entirety. For example, if I've had a good day but at the end of
if I break a shoe, I'm already thinking it's been a horrible day. Or,
I have made a mistake, I am the worst.
15. Minimization: To give little importance to the positive.
for example: sometimes they call me to go out, but not enough.
16. Magnification: Making the negative much worse than it is. Making
a mountain of a grain of sand. For example: We have discussed,
our relationship is surely coming to an end.
How is it applied?
Steps of cognitive restructuring
Below, we detail the different steps and exercises that need to be
carry out to perform cognitive restructuring.

1. Record irrational thoughts

Surely, when reading the irrational beliefs we have listed
Previously you have noticed which ones you tend to have more of
first. The first step is for you to gradually identify which
Those are the distortions. How is cognitive restructuring applied?
. When you feel bad, reflect on what thoughts you have had.
What has made you feel bad? Write them down. You can create self-logs.
with three columns, one in which you describe the situation, another what
You think one thing and feel another. From there you can gather a lot of information.
about the thoughts that come to you.
. Focus on one type of cognitive distortion and try to be aware of it.
when it comes up, write it down.
. Escribe pensamientos concretos y cada uno de forma separada.
. Sometimes thoughts manifest as images. That is why it is
it's hard to find the belief that underlies that image and it's a task that
requires some effort.
This step is essential to become aware of what our
irrational thoughts to then work on them and
modify them.
For example, you may often think that when someone is
serious or quiet is because he is angry because of you.

2. Analyze the truthfulness of thoughts

irrational
Once you have several of these irrational beliefs, the next
The step is to analyze what evidence we have that what we think.
It is true and the evidence for and against it. How is it applied?
cognitive restructuring?
We continue with our example: Juan is serious, surely he is
angry with me. Is this thought completely true? What
Is there evidence that he is angry because of us? Does he...
Has he said? Can I try it? Is that a good test? Do we have
evidence against our claim? Is there anything that indicates to us
What if we are wrong?

3. Analyze the usefulness of thinking

What good does it do me to think that he is angry with me? Do I solve my
problems thinking about this? Will it help me? What will I achieve
thinking like this? These thoughts usually don't help us. In fact,
they always make us feel bad and do not help to solve anything
situation.

4. Analyze the significance of thought

If you were angry with me, is it that serious? Is it the worst?
What could happen? Why would it be so horrific? Will I be able to endure it?
Will I remember this in a few years? Can you imagine?
continuing with your life even when this
Would it happen like this?

Most situations are not serious enough to worry us.

excessively because of them.

5. Conduct behavioral experiments

If you think Juan is angry with you, you can simply
ask him to clear up any doubts. If it turns out he was angry.
with you, it is a good opportunity to talk about it and solve it.

6. Find alternative thoughts

Once you realize that your thinking is
irrational, it is time to apply this cognitive restructuring technique:
Find alternative rational thoughts. To do this, ask yourself:
. Is there another way to interpret this situation?
. If a friend had this thought, what would I tell him?
. Could I do something more useful than going around this thought?
. Does this way of interpreting reality help me achieve my
Objectives? Does it help me to have a better mood?
It is also important to eliminate the "shoulds" and the "have tos" and
replace them with 'I would like' or 'I would prefer'. Not 'I need someone who'
I want someone to love me, but if not
It's not the end of the world either. I can manage just fine on my own.
Restructuring is no easy task and requires a lot of time.
in practice. But there will come a time when the irrational ideas that
they were tormenting us, each time it will become less frequent. It is
it is possible that others may appear, but we will already know how to identify them and
modify them.

Practical examples of restructuring

cognitive
Below we provide some practical examples depending on the
problem we have. Cognitive restructuring is a good
tool and effective in many cases, but in others it may not be
works well, because of the type of person and their specific problem. For
Hello, if there is a psychological disorder or the discomfort is very great, it
it is more appropriate to seek a professional. And in no case is this
the tool should be used as a unique technique, but within
set of therapy.

Cognitive restructuring for children

Children can also do cognitive restructuring, but
always adapted to their age. In therapy, the work with children is done
normally through play so that they can pay attention and it
understand well. These exercises are suitable for children between 6 and
11 years.
. Metaphor of television: "Imagine you have the power to change the
the way we think about something that has happened to us. And you
the mind is like a television and you can change the channel.
for example, channel 1 is for bad news (irrational thoughts),
and channel 2 is the one for the good (alternative thoughts).
. Mental puppets, little angels and devils. The search for forms
thinking alternatives become easier if we incorporate this type of
characters representing the internal dialogue. "What does the devil tell you?"
What would the little angel say?

Cognitive restructuring in adolescents

Cognitive restructuring in adolescents, especially if they are already
Elderly individuals can be done in the same way as with adults.
But for younger teenagers or preteens starting from
11 years old, exercises can be done where kids can adopt
a scientific attitude towards your thoughts.
 . Thought detective: looking for clues and evidence that these
thoughts are true “What clues do I have that they don't like me to my
companions).
. Questioning journalist: "How many of my friends think this?"
also?
. Giant magnifying glass: this can help kids to analyze more
deeply about the situations and their thoughts. "What do you think has
Past for you to feel that way? Shall we take a magnifying glass and put it there?

Cognitive restructuring in anxiety

Many times in stressful situations, anxiety increases due to the
type of thoughts we have. For example, if we have to give
a public talk and we think: "This is awful, I don't want to
do it. I’m going to get very nervous and everyone will tell me
You will notice. I'm going to make a fool of myself, they're going to think I'm stupid.

. Is this completely true? What evidence do I have that they are going to
think I am dumb or useless? Is it that when I see someone talking in
being in public and getting nervous, I think it's silly? And do I have the power to
guess what is going to happen and what people are going to think?
. Is it useful for me to think that it will go wrong? Does it make me put on
less nervous?
. If I really get nervous, is it the worst that could happen to me?
happen? Will I be able to bear it?
Alternative thought: "Getting nervous is normal, everyone experiences it."
It happens to me. And if it shows, people will understand it. But I'm sure that I ...
It's going well. And if it doesn't turn out the way I want, it's not the end of the
world. Also, thinking this only helps me to get more
nervous.

Cognitive restructuring couple therapy

In couple therapy, restructuring can be done in the same way.
in the manner we have detailed above. But here is an example:
Imagine that you arrive home tired and you expect your partner to
offer to make dinner. Since you don't do it, you end up doing it yourself and
you think: "He/She is selfish, he/she should have offered. It always falls to me"
I'm fed up.
Now we ask ourselves:
. Is this completely true? Are there things he does for me if I ask for them?
Is it true that it always falls on me or are there times when it doesn't?
 . Does this thought serve me any purpose? It really only makes me
I am in a fight with my partner and we haven't solved anything.
. Is it so terrible to have to make dinner? Will I be able to stand it?
Alternative thinking: Perhaps it is true that I make dinner a lot.
sometimes, but not always. My partner does things for me, and today
maybe he/she hasn't realized that he/she was tired. If I don't tell him/her,
is not going to guess that I don't feel like cooking. Next time, I'll tell him/her.
I will ask.

Cognitive restructuring in OCD

TheObsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)it is a complicated problem of
address. Cognitive restructuring in these cases can be.
problematic. These people can turn the therapist and the
content of the restructuring in a strategy to neutralize the
discomfort caused by his obsession, turning him into another
compulsion. Moreover, most people with OCD know that their
thoughts are irrational but they don't know how to stop them.
In these cases, the objective of the restructuring is not to occur.
It's unlikely that it will become contaminated if it touches a
object of the street, but it is overestimating the threat that this
it would suppose for their health.

Reality checks can also be very useful for one to have

the account of the low probability of terrible consequences that
anticipate