The Cognitive Approach - CBT: Dysfunctional Thought Diary

Question 1

What are clients asked to keep a record of?

Answer 1

• clients are asked to keep a record of events in their daily life that lead up to an unpleasant emotion
• they also record the thoughts they have in relation to the event

Question 2

What do clients rate first, then what else do they rate, and what do they re-rate?

Answer 2

• clients rate how much they believe in the dysfunctional thought on a scale of 1-100% (not true to absolutely true)
• then the client has to write a rational response to the automatic thought and rate their belief in the rational response
• finally, the client re-rates their beliefs in the original automatic thought

Question 3

How does dysfunctional thought diaries treat mental illness?

Answer 3

1 - identify automatic negative thought
->
2 - reality test
->
3 - replace with logical thought
->
4 - begin to feel better