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Types of Cognitive Distortion
JustBen · 10/23/03 at 9:57 ET
I think my understanding of the cognitive model is pretty good, and I've never had any trouble identifying dysfunctional automatic thoughts and developing helpful adaptive responses. That said, I may be embarassing myself by admitting to this, but I've always had trouble understanding Beck's 12 types of cognitive distortions. Don't get me wrong, they're pretty simple and straightforward when you read through the list. But when you apply them to actual thoughts, there seems to be some overlap. For example, let's say my automatic thought is, "I got an F on my report card, I must be stupid." My first impression is that this AT is a mental filter error because I'm paying undue attention to one detail instead of seeing the whole picture. But, tunnel vision also seems like a natural choice, because I'm only seeing the negative. Also, this seems like a magnification error because I'm magnifying the negative and minimizing the positive -- by not even considering it. Finally, I also seem to be overgeneralizing by passing judgement about myself based on just one experience. What am I missing here? Is this truly an example of an automative thought that falls into multiple categories of cognitive distortion? Am I somehow misunderstanding the types of cognitive distortion, or perhaps evaluating the automatic thought incorrectly? More importantly, how crucial are these categories in a clinical context? If one can identify the automatic thought and develop an adaptive response, why would one even need to consider the type of cognitive distortion? Is it simply to identify cognitive patterns that help with case conceptualization, or do you find that certain types of cognitive distortions 'react' better to certain techniques? And all thoughts are appreciated.
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