Better-But-Believable Thoughts: An alternative to cognitive therapy
PESIinc
For most of us, a small amount of worry can spur us into action and help us solve a problem. But for others, worrying can become a problem. For those that are pre-occupied with worry, it can take an extensive toll on their body.
If you have a client with chronic worry, you've likely tried cognitive therapy on some level. Collaborating with the client to identify thought styles, such as catastrophizing, filtering, shoulds, and mind-reading, and replacing these with alternative positive thoughts has been proven effective for generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. However, these methods are time-consuming and complex.
First, the client is expected to identify the thought style they are experiencing. Next, the client must construct a new thought based on a list of suggestions. It's a laborious process that is also flawed when the commonly used suggestion to "think positive" is added in.
According to Jennifer Abel, Ph.D., the bottom line is that if the person doesn't really believe that the thought is true, it's going to be useless. Abel has created a new, simpler strategy to try with your clients: Better-but-Believable thoughts, or B3s.
Check out this clip from 101 Practical Strategies for the Treatment of GAD, Panic, OCD, Social Anxiety Disorder, Phobias and Insomnia to see B3s in action. In this example, you'll learn how to stop a mother's worry about her son riding his bike using Better-but-Believable thoughts.
This blog is based on the seminar 101 Practical Strategies for the Treatment of GAD, Panic, OCD, Social Anxiety Disorder, Phobias and Insomnia presented by Jennifer Abel, Ph.D.
If you have a client with chronic worry, you've likely tried cognitive therapy on some level. Collaborating with the client to identify thought styles, such as catastrophizing, filtering, shoulds, and mind-reading, and replacing these with alternative positive thoughts has been proven effective for generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. However, these methods are time-consuming and complex.
First, the client is expected to identify the thought style they are experiencing. Next, the client must construct a new thought based on a list of suggestions. It's a laborious process that is also flawed when the commonly used suggestion to "think positive" is added in.
According to Jennifer Abel, Ph.D., the bottom line is that if the person doesn't really believe that the thought is true, it's going to be useless. Abel has created a new, simpler strategy to try with your clients: Better-but-Believable thoughts, or B3s.
Check out this clip from 101 Practical Strategies for the Treatment of GAD, Panic, OCD, Social Anxiety Disorder, Phobias and Insomnia to see B3s in action. In this example, you'll learn how to stop a mother's worry about her son riding his bike using Better-but-Believable thoughts.
We want to know... What do you think about Better-but-Believable thoughts?
Tell us in the comments below!
This blog is based on the seminar 101 Practical Strategies for the Treatment of GAD, Panic, OCD, Social Anxiety Disorder, Phobias and Insomnia presented by Jennifer Abel, Ph.D.
