ABSTRACT
Wells states that 'one of the most effective questions for eliciting negative automatic thoughts (NATs) in the therapeutic dialogue is "What's the worst that could happen if" Freeman et al suggest that this question should not be asked unless the therapist believes that the client is capable of: understanding the hypothetical nature of the question, developing adaptive responses to highly adverse events, and benefiting from the idea that 'If Freeman can handle the worst, then Freeman can handle anything else less than the worst'. Additionally, this question is indicated if the worst outcome is based on a highly distorted reading of future events such as 'My whole life will be totally ruined if Freeman fail the exam' or 'I'll be so terrified of the plane crashing I'll be running up and down the aisles screaming and vomiting over everyone'. Assuming the worst can also be undertaken if the client's imagined fear could occur and he wants to face it.
