Back from the

Back from the Bluez
Module 8
Core Beliefs

CCCore Beliefs

2Core Beliefs Worksheet

6

Following Through7

Module Summary

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Back from theCore Beliefs
By now you are probably becoming used to the process of challenging your thinking in a range ofsituations. You know how to identify the thoughts that are causing you distress and how to challenge
them and replace them with more balanced thoughts. However, you might notice that there are times
when it is harder to believe the new balanced thought and the old unhelpful thoughts seem to be very
powerful. You might notice that this happens in certain kinds of situations.
A possible explanation for this ‘difficulty in letting go’ of an unhelpful thought is that there may be a strong core
belief at the root of that unhelpful thought. Core beliefs are the very essence of how we see ourselves, otherpeople, the world, and the future. Sometimes, these core beliefs become ‘activated’ in certain situations. Here’s
an example:
Erica is able to challenge her thinking in most situations. However, she has noticed that she has trouble
challenging her thinking when it comes to situations involving her flat mates and the people she volunteers withat the hospital. She is troubled by feelings of depression and despair, and even after working through her
thought diary, she has a tendency to believe the negative statements and continue to feel bad. In thesesituations, she has recognised that her thinking is often about being unlikeable. In fact, when she really looks
hard at her thinking, she can see that often the underlying self-statement is, “I’m unlovable.”Core beliefs, such as the one from the above example, develop over time, usually from childhood and through theexperience of significant life events or particular life circumstances. Core beliefs are strongly-held, rigid, andinflexible beliefs that are maintained by the tendency to focus on information that supports the belief and ignoring
evidence that contradicts it. For example, Erica focuses on any feedback from her flat mates that isn’t positive andthen uses this to confirm that yet again she is unlikeable. Even neutral statements from her flat mates and friends
are often interpreted as negative. Over the years, this narrow focus gives strength to the belief and Erica nolonger thinks to question it. It is just totally and absolutely accepted. It is not surprising, then, that these types ofbeliefs are the hardest to shake.

Identifying Themes from Thought Diaries
So, how can you start identifying your core beliefs? The first step is to look over your Thought Diaries to see if
your ‘hot’ thoughts have any common themes. You might notice that there are certain patterns to your thoughts– similar themes that occur in the B columns. Look closely at these to identify the patterns. You may becomeaware of one or two common themes found in the things you say about yourself, others, and the world. In thecolumns below, write down the themes you might have found from your ‘hot’ thoughts.

Identifying A Core Belief
The process of identifying a core belief is not a great deal different from what you have already being doing in yourthought diaries. Essentially, the idea is to extend the hot thought further to reveal the bottom line or root ofwhat you might be thinking. This is illustrated using the following example:

I am …

Others are ...

The world is ...

The future is ...

Eg: “I am inadequate.”

Eg: “People always rejectme.”

Eg: “The world is adangerous place.”

Eg: “The future ishopeless.”

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Back from theThought Diary(Example)

A Activating Event

This may be either: An actual event or situation, athought, mental picture or recollection
My flatmates went to see a movie
together but I wasn’t invited to gowith them

C Consequences

B
1.
2.
3.

Beliefs

List all self-statements that link A to C. Ask yourself: “Whatwas I thinking?“ “What was I saying to myself?“ “What wasgoing through my head at the time?“
Find the most distressing (hot) thought and underline it.
Rate how much you believe this thought from 0 to 100.

“My flatmates don’t like me.”“What does that mean?”“There must be something wrong with me”

1. Write down words describing how you feel.
“What does that mean?”
2. Rate the intensity of those feelings and underline
the one that is most associated with the“I’ll never be able to have close friends”
activating event.
Hurt (90)
3. Jot down any physical sensation you
experienced or actions carried out.

“What does that say about me?”I’ll never be able to have arelationship“What does that mean?”“I’m unlovable” (core belief)

As you can see it takes a bit of work to get down to the actual core of what you believe. Use questions similar tothe Thought Discovery Questions discussed in Module 4, such as:•••“If that’s true, what does that mean?““What’s bad about that?”“What does that say about me?”This process is like sifting through the layers of self-talk to get at what is at the bottom layer. Now, you are readyto challenge your core beliefs. Even though these beliefs are strongly held, it is important that they are challenged,
just like any unhelpful thoughts. Once you have fully identified what you are telling yourself, you can begin to see
if your core beliefs hold up against all that you have experienced. This process of challenging your core beliefs
may not be an easy one. If you find the process too difficult or distressing, do consider seeing a mental healthprofessional and discussing this with them.

Challenging Your Core Beliefs
To evaluate and challenge your core beliefs, ask yourself “What experiences do I have that show that this belief is
not completely true all the time?” Use the space below to list as many experiences, and be as specific, as possible.
Remember to write down everything even when you’re not sure if they are relevant.
When you have considered all the experiences you have written down, develop an alternative, balanced corebelief. Remember that these experiences show that your unhelpful core belief is not completely true all the time.
What would be an appropriate balanced and helpful core belief? Write this down.
In the example of Erica, some of the experiences that go against her core belief (“I am unlovable”) might be:
1. When I was in school, I had 4 really good friends. We hung out together every day. Unfortunately, wedidn’t keep in contact after we left school, but I did have friends who liked me.
2. I had a neighbour who became quite a good friend. She would tell me a lot about herself. She’s married
and moved over east now, but we occasionally keep in touch.
3. At the hospital where I volunteer, there’s someone I sometimes have coffee with.

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Back from theHer balanced core belief might be: “Not everyone will like me all the time, but I am likeable to some people.”Core belief to be challenged:

Experiences that show that this belief is not COMPLETELY true ALL the time:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Balanced Core Belief:

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Back from theBehavioural Experiments
You could also try doing a behavioural experiment to challenge those hard-to-budge unhelpful core beliefs. The
purpose of doing an experiment is to find out how true your core beliefs are. Here’s how you could conduct anexperiment.
1. Write down the core belief you want to test
2. Think of a few tasks you could do to test your core belief
3. Write down what you would expect would happen if your core belief were true.
4. Carry out the tasks
5. Record what actually happened when you carried out the tasks
6. Compare the actual results with your prediction and write down what you might have learned from theexperiment. Then, write down a new balanced belief that fits with your conclusion.

Let’s use the example of Erica to illustrate this process for you. Use the blank behavioural experiment record
provided below, and a Core Beliefs Worksheet on the next page, to challenge your unhelpful core beliefs.
Core belief to be tested: I’m unlovable
Task/s:Smile and say hello to 5
nurses I don’t’ know

Prediction:
They will look away or
mumble something andthen walk away

What actually happened:
1 mumbled something
3 said hello
1 stopped to chatAsk 3 persons I volunteer
with to have coffee with me

They will all say no2 said they were busy, 1
said yes

Conclusion: From this experiment, I realise that I am not totally unlovable orunlikeable. I definitely know some people who like me and are friendly with me.
Therefore, my core belief is not always true.
Balanced core belief:
Not everyone will like me all the time, but I am likeable to some people.
Core belief to be tested:
Task/s:

Prediction:

What actually happened:

Conclusion:
Balanced core belief:

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Core belief to be challenged:

Experiences that show that this belief is not COMPLETELY true ALL the time
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Balanced core belief:Core belief to be tested:
Task/s:

Prediction:

What actually happened:

Conclusion:

Balanced core belief:

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Back from theFollowing ThroughYou might find it useful to write your balanced core beliefs onto cards that you can carry around withyou as a reminder when this type of thinking is triggered. Remember, unhelpful core beliefs areapproached just the same as any other type of unhelpful thinking – they just take some extra work on
your part. Once you’ve gathered evidence against your unhelpful core beliefs, conducted abehavioural experiment to test them, and have developed balanced core beliefs, follow through on
them.

Balanced core beliefs require careful nurturing and ‘tender loving care.’ Affirm yourself by using
positive self-statements, remind yourself of all the evidence against the unhelpful core belief. Also, act
against your unhelpful core belief. If you have previously avoided doing certain things because of yourunhelpful core belief, now is the time to act against it, and stop avoiding those things. Ask yourself,“If I really believed my balanced belief, what are the things I would do?” Then, go out and do them.
The more you do these things, the more you will come to believe your balanced beliefs. Over time,these new core beliefs will be integrated into your belief system.

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Back from theModule Summary•Sometimes, it may be difficult to believe balanced thoughts in certain situations
because there may be a strong core belief operating in that particular situation•Core beliefs are the very essence of how we see ourselves, other people, theworld, and the future. They are strongly-held, rigid, and inflexible beliefs that are
maintained by the tendency to focus on information that supports the belief andignoring evidence that contradicts it. Such beliefs are often unquestioned – they are
just totally and absolutely acceptedCore beliefs can be identified by looking over your thought diaries to see if your‘hot’ thoughts have any common themes••

You can get to the core of what you believe by asking yourself “What does thatmean?” after an unhelpful thought or a ‘hot’ thought•

To evaluate and challenge your unhelpful core beliefs, ask yourself, “Whatexperiences do I have that show that this belief is not completely true all the time?”
Core beliefs can also be challenged by conducting a behavioural experiment, whichaims to find how true your core beliefs really are•••••Plan a few tasks to test your belief, write down what you expect will happen, carryout the tasks, record what actually happened and compare this with your prediction
Develop an alternative, balanced core belief to replace the unhelpful core belief
Remind yourself of your balanced core belief by writing it on a card and carry it
around with you and affirm yourself with positive self-statements
Follow through on your balanced core belief by putting it into action

Stay Tuned...
In the next module, we will discuss
how you can maintain the gains youhave made, stay healthy, and enhanceyour wellbeing.

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Back from theAbout The Modules
BACKGROUNDThis module was created in the early 2000s by Clinical Psychologists at the Centre forClinical Interventions, under the supervision of the Centre’s Founding Director, Paula
Nathan.
The concepts and strategies in these modules have been developed from evidence based
psychological practice, primarily Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT). CBT for depression
and anxiety is based on the approach that depression and anxiety are the result of
problematic cognitions (thoughts) and behaviours.

REFERENCES
These are some of the professional references used to create the modules in thisinformation package.
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J. , Shaw, B. F., Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression.
New York: The Guildford Press.
Beck, J.S. (1995) Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: The Guilford Press
Barlow, D.H. (2001). Clinical handbook of psychological disorders: A step-by-step treatment
manual (3rd ed.) New York: The Guilford Press
Clark, M.D. & Fairburn, C.C. (1997) Science and practice of cognitive behaviour therapy.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
Dobson, K.S., & Craig, K.A. (1998) Empirically supported therapies: Best practice inprofessional psychology. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Hawton, K., Salkovskis, P.M., Kirk, J., & Clark, D.M. (1989) Cognitive behaviour therapy for
psychiatric problems: A practical guide. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Nathan, P.E. & Gorman, J.M. (2002) (Eds.) A guide to treatments that work (2nd ed.) NewYork: Oxford University Press.

“BACK FROM THE BLUEZ”
This module forms part of:Nathan, P., Rees, C., Lim, L., & Correia, H. (2003). Back from the Bluez. Perth, Western
Australia: Centre for Clinical Interventions

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