ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews three methods of changing thinking: Socratic dialogue, daily thought records, and behavioural experiments. The use of Socratic dialogue is when the therapist wants the client to reflect on their thinking and meaning-giving process and method. A common mistake of inexperienced cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) therapists is to fire off a salvo of questions to the client and follow up each answer with another question. The CBT model assumes that irrational thoughts influence negative affect and that this negative affect can be instrumental in promoting maladaptive behaviours or blocking pro-social behaviours. The daily thought records (DTRs) is really one of the centrepieces of working with clients with psychological problems since all cognitive, emotional, and behavioural problems will come to the fore in carefully done DTRs. The client and therapist prepare carefully what behaviour the client will engage in, and work at making the client's prediction as specific as possible.
