ABSTRACT
Clients' negative core beliefs are often constructed in all or nothing terms such as 'You're either a success or failure in life and I'm one of life's failures'. The use of a continuum introduces shades of grey into clients' thinking thereby helping them to develop more balanced and realistic appraisals of themselves, others and the world. Padesky and Greenberger suggest that 'a scale or continuum is most therapeutic when it constructed and its data evaluated for new schema and not the old. A small shift that strengthens new schema is usually more hopeful for client than a small shift that weakens old schema'. The continuum reference point to check clients' progress towards the mid-point based information and evidence collected from various sources. The continuum designed to help clients develop a rounded view of themselves and their experiences, so therapists should encourage their clients to 'use qualifiers, such as, 'Sometimes I am really smart', 'Often I am appealing to people'.
