Court Trial Thought Challenging Record (Archived)
NOTE: An improved version of this resource is available here: Thought Record - Courtroom Trial. Older versions of a resource may be archived in the event that they are available in multiple languages, or where data indicates that the resource continues to be frequently used by clinicians.
Thought challenging records are commonly used in CBT to help people to evaluate their negative automatic thoughts for accuracy and bias. This Court Trial Thought Challenging Record uses the metaphor of a court trial, which makes the challenge of the negative thought explicit and concrete. The client is encouraged to adopt the role of a defense attorney to defend the truthfulness of the NAT, and the role of a prosecuting attorney attempting to undermine the truthfulness of the NAT. This format may be helpful when clients are able to identify their negative automatic thoughts (NATs), but they struggle to identify evidence against the NAT and to then generate a balanced, more realistic alternative thought. The court metaphor and the adoption of different roles can help clients to ‘de-center’ and view the situation more as an observer.
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Introduction & Theoretical Background
Beck’s cognitive model (Beck et al, 1979) proposes that events are not directly responsible for the way we feel. Rather, it is the interpretation of those events – our appraisals, thoughts, or cognitions – that trigger our emotional responses. The model implies that we can change how we feel by changing how we think. The CBT cognitive model describes different levels of cognition that underpin how we think about ourselves, other people and the world, shaping our interpretation and response to events. Moving from the deepest to the most superficial, these are:
- Core beliefs. These are understood as generalized statements that shape how an individual un- derstands themselves, other people, and the world (e.g. “I’m competent”, “I’m unlovable”, “No one can be trusted”, “The world is dangerous and unpredictable”, “I’m adaptable”).
- Intermediate beliefs. These are understood as a set of assumptions that guide behavior across different situations. They can
Therapist Guidance
“CBT says that the way we think about a situation affects how we feel. We all have hundreds of ‘automatic thoughts’ every day that just pop into our minds. They often feel so ‘natural’ that we don’t pause to consider whether they are true or not. That’s a problem because our automatic thoughts can often be biased – we can end up feeling bad because our thoughts have been unhelpful or inaccurate. One helpful technique is to ‘put your thoughts on trial’ and treat them like the defendant in a trial at court. Would you be willing to try it with me?”
- Put your thought in the dock. To begin, encourage the client to identify a specific negative thought that has been troubling them.
- What is the negative thought that has been troubling you?
- Which negative thought has been troubling you the most this week?
- Prosecution.
References And Further Reading
- Beck, A.T. & Beck J.S. (1995). Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond. New York: Guilford.
- Beck, A.T., Rush, A.J., Shaw, B.F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford.