Confidence and Success with CBT E-Book

Avy Joseph

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Seitenzahl: 275

Beschreibung

Simple, effective techniques for developing a healthier attitude toward life and finding the confidence you need to achieve your goals Offering simple, time-tested techniques for zeroing in on and rewriting negative, self-destructive patterns of thought and behavior that a person can acquire over a lifetime, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a powerful therapeutic approach that has been proven to be highly effective in helping overcome an array of psychological and behavioral problems, from eating disorders and drug addiction to low self-esteem and phobias. Written by one of the world's most recognized CBT therapist teams, this book focuses on one of the greatest barriers to happiness and success at work and in life: lack of confidence. * Powerful CBT techniques for becoming more confident, motivated and persuasive and for mastering anxiety and low self-esteem * Comprehensive in scope this guide to CBT fundamentals makes an ideal handbook for people interested in implementing CBT techniques in their personal and professional lives, as well as therapists * Packed with tips and suggestions for using CBT techniques to improve your everyday life, it helps you identify and "unlearn" unhealthy thoughts and behaviors in order to achieve lasting results * Bestselling self-help authors Joseph and Chapman run a world-famous psychological wellness center in London

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title page

Copyright page

Dedication

Confidence and Success

Using CBT

CBT Theory

The Simple ABC Model

Understanding Unhealthy and Healthy Beliefs

Emotions, Thoughts, Behaviours and Physical Symptoms

Three Major Themes of Disturbance

How to Use This Book

Step 1: Identify What You Want

Obstacles to Step 1: Identify What You Want

Step 2: Gather Information

Obstacles to Step 2: Gather Information

Step 3: Set Achievable Goals

SMART Goals

Obstacles to Step 3: Set Achievable Goals

Step 4: Create a Plan

Obstacles to Step 4: Create a Plan

Step 5: Take Action

Immediate Tasks

Consistent Tasks

Tolerate Tension and Discomfort

Obstacles to Step 5: Take Action

Step 6: Keep Focus on the Goal with Feedback

Obstacles to Step 6: Keep Focus on the Goal with Feedback

Goal Achieved – Now What?

About the Authors

Avy Joseph

Maggie Chapman

Acknowledgements

Index

Cover design by Parent Design Ltd

© 2013 Avy Joseph and Maggie Chapman

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Joseph, Avy.

Confidence and success with CBT : small steps to achieve your big goals with cognitive behaviour therapy / Avy Joseph and Maggie Chapman.

1 online resource.

Includes index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN 978-0-85708-347-0 (ebk) – ISBN 978-0-85708-348-7 (ebk) – ISBN 978-0-85708-349-4 (ebk) – ISBN 978-0-85708-350-0 (pbk.) 1. Cognitive therapy. 2. Psychotherapy–Methodology. I. Chapman, Maggie, 1954– II. Title.

RC489.C63

616.89'1425–dc23

2013022091

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978–0–857–08350–0 (pbk) ISBN 978–0–857–08348–7 (ebk)

ISBN 978–0–857–08349–4 (ebk) ISBN 978–0–857–08347–0 (ebk)

To our families, friends and colleagues, who support us so brilliantly.

Confidence and Success

“We are what we think; all that we are arises with our thoughts; with our thoughts we make our world.”

Buddha

Confidence gives you the power to be able to fully focus on your goals without being anxious. This means you do not dwell on potential negative consequences but remain focused on the task at hand. You are not anxious about failure or the disapproval of others, and nor are you disturbed when you fail.

The mindset that creates confidence increases the probability of enjoyment and success. Belief in your ability to achieve a task is influenced by successful experiences that reinforce a more general sense of self-confidence. When we feel confident, we focus on achieving what we set out to do, in the present moment and in a constructive way. If we lack confidence, we may hear ourselves say, “If only I could feel more confident”, “I can't do this” or “I'm not good enough”, “I have never succeeded at anything”, “I don't think I can do it”, “I don't know how I did this” or “That was a fluke.”

Confidence arises from experience and a healthy mindset. A good example of this is when we learn to drive a car. Initially, we have little confidence in our ability, and rightly so, but as we learn and practise the new skills we become more confident in our ability to perform them. We feel uncomfortable when we start learning how to drive but with determination, a focus on the goal and repeated practice we develop a growing sense of confidence in our ability to drive.

Success is felt when we achieve the goals we set for ourselves. Success is a personal experience and it depends on what each of us wants. It is the conscious awareness that we are doing what we want to do in a self-determined way that denotes success. For some, success may be:

A garden that produces enough not to require a visit to the supermarket.Living life fully enjoying each day with a sense of contentment and well-being.Buying a house/car.Being in a healthy relationship.£x millions in the bank account.An Olympic gold medal.Reaching a target weight.Securing a promotion at work.

Developing confidence and success involves identifying what you want and setting about achieving it while overcoming the obstacles as and when they occur. We have identified six key steps to help you realise your goal, whatever it may be. They are:

Step 1: Identify what you want.Step 2: Gather information.Step 3: Set achievable goals.Step 4: Create a plan.Step 5: Take action.Step 6: Keep focus on the goal with feedback.

We have seen, over the years, in both our corporate and private practices many individuals who struggle with self-confidence, failure and a perception of failure, as well as a host of other issues. At the heart of the problem with confidence and success is anxiety. Anxieties can be about discomfort, failure, disapproval, uncertainty, perfectionism and so forth. Confidence and success are sabotaged by holding unhealthy beliefs.

The aim of this book is to use the cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) model to help you understand:

The mindset required to achieve your bigger goal.The mindset that creates obstacles to success.How to overcome the obstacles by changing your beliefs.How to develop confidence.

First though, it is necessary to explain in more detail the basic principles of CBT and the central role that beliefs play in this model.

“It is not enough to take steps which may some day lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Using CBT

CBT Theory

“It is not the event but the view we take of it that disturbs us.”

Epictetus

Epictetus eloquently sums up Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). CBT looks at how we think and what we do. It takes the view that emotions, like anxiety, arise from faulty thinking. That is to say, essentially, we are largely responsible for our emotions, thoughts and behaviours.

We tend to speak in a way that suggests events, people, situations or objects can make us feel or do things. Someone could say, “Presentations make me panic.” This is clearly not the case. If this were true, everyone who did a presentation would panic. There has to be something else that provokes panic. It is called a “belief”. Therefore, it is the belief about presentations that provokes those feelings of panic and not the presentations themselves.

In the following steps, we are going to look at specific types of unhealthy beliefs that provoke unhealthy feelings, thoughts and behaviours. For example, a belief such as “I must succeed at all costs because failure would be like the end of the world for me” would provoke emotional disturbance, such as anxiety, and may lead to avoidant behaviour.

Consider the following illustration to understand this concept.

The Simple ABC Model

This simple model illustrates the basic theoretical principles of CBT and the effect our beliefs have on our feelings and behaviours. It also illustrates the principles of emotional responsibility. It reminds us that it is not the event but the belief or view we hold about the event that provokes our feelings and behaviours.