Diving Beneath the Surface: The Uncovering Techniques
What are the root causes of depression? Anxiety? Relationship problems? In this, and the next two podcasts, you will discover the answer!
Cognitive Therapists believe that negative thoughts, or cognitions, can exist on two different levels. When you’re upset, you’ll have Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) in the here and now, and they’ll usually be something like this:
- Depression: You may be telling yourself that you’re a loser, or a failure, or that you’ll be miserable forever.
- Anxiety: You’re probably telling yourself that you’re in danger, and that something terrible is about to happen. “When I get up to give my talk at my church group, my mind will probably go blank and I’ll make a total fool of myself!”
- Relationship conflicts: You may be telling yourself that someone you’re ticked off at is a self-centered jerk who only cares about himself or herself and shouldn’t be that way!
Individual Downward Arrow
But why do we get these ANTs in the first place? Cognitive therapists believe that Self-Defeating Beliefs, and other deeper structures in the brain, make us vulnerable to painful mood swings and conflicted relationships with the people we care about. To help you pinpoint your own Self-Defeating Beliefs, David has created two uncovering techniques called the Individual Downward Arrow and the Interpersonal Downward Arrow, and Albert Ellis, the noted New York psychologist, created a third called the “What-If” Technique. In today’s podcast, Drs. Burns and Nye illustrate the Individual Downward Arrow technique, using as an example a psychologist named Harold who was understandably devastated when his patient unexpectedly committed suicide.
You can follow along on this PowerPoint presentation starting with Harold’s Daily Mood Log with David and Fabrice while they illustrate the Individual Downward Arrow technique.
Harold’s Daily Mood Log and Downward Arrow
Once they come to the “bottom of the barrel,” they will ask you to pause the recording, and see if you can pinpoint five or six or more of Harold’s Self-Defeating Beliefs, using the list of 23 Common Self-Defeating Beliefs.
David emphasizes that we create our own emotional and interpersonal reality at every moment of every day, but we aren’t aware of this, so we often feel like victims of forces beyond our control. We are really talking about emotional and interpersonal enlightenment, and the uncovering techniques will make this ancient Buddhist concept more understandable for you.
If you’d like more tips on precisely how to do the Individual Downward Arrow Technique, you can read David’s recent Feeling Good Blog on this topic!
In our next Feeling Good Podcast, David and Fabrice will illustrate the Interpersonal Downward Arrow Technique, which will allow you to complete a course of psychoanalysis in just 5 to 7 minutes, rather than the 5 to 7 years free associating on the couch. It is truly psychoanalysis at warp speed, and is pretty amazing! And when you change the beliefs that trigger interpersonal conflicts, you can change them and enjoy greater satisfaction in your relationships with the people you care about. But sometimes, that requires a little bit of courage!
And in the third Feeling Good Podcast on the uncovering techniques, David and Fabrice will illustrate Dr. Albert Ellis’ famous “What-If Technique.” If you struggle with any type of anxiety, including fears and phobias, this technique can help you uncover the feared fantasy at the root of your fears, so you can challenge the monster and attain freedom from the fears that hold you back!
Very detailed and helpful. Almost felt like attending a bite sized training session. Thank you very much.
Thanks! david
thank you very much dr David burns and his team of collaborators after Allbert Ellis and dr BECK you are the spearhead worldwide in the field of cognitive therapy CONGRATULATIONS from MEXICO
Thanks so much! Warmly, david
Carolyn Van Doren on May 19, 2023, I have a client who appears to not be aware of negative thoughts when we do the mood log. This is a first for me. Instead, she makes positive statements. The statements appear related to what she thinks she should think. She does not seem aware of self. I switched over to distorted beliefs and came up with recognition of difficulties. This is a perfectionistic person, verbal maternal abuse and early rejection. Your podcasts are helpful. Thank you.
Thanks! Learning TEAM-CBT requires quite a lot of training, and we offer two free weekly training groups for therapists around the world. You can learn how to deal with this type of issue. All the best, david