Re: Socialising patients in cognitive therapy

I would add that it's important not to overlook the behavioral aspect. No one in the history of mankind has ever gotten in trouble for their internal emotional state (feelings). It is behavior that makes all the difference. Often our regrets concern acting without thinking. So we put the two together and say "In order to behave more effectively when you are _____ (anxious, angry, etc.) I would like to help you insert an adaptive thought in between the feeling and the behavior."

Sometimes, that thought is simply giving oneself permission not to do anything. Anxiety creates emergencies where there are none. Most of the time, the client can wait to act or respond.

Lastly, I often tell clients that feelings are slippery creatures, not ammenable to direct change. If they could simply FEEL better, they would have done that already, and we'd all be digging ditches somewhere. We can control our thinking and our behavior much more directly. We should focus on things within our power to change. When they are perceiving their environment accurately, and behaving effectively, chances are pretty good they will be feeling better.

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