ABSTRACT
Maladaptive core beliefs are usually formed in childhood and the client may have collected a lot of evidence over the years to support and strengthen them. However, this evidence which demonstrates the 'truth' about herself and her life is a product of the consistently negative bias generated by these beliefs. Undertaking a retrospective survey of the client's life viewed through the lens of the new core belief for her both productive and strange. Padesky suggests dividing the client's life into time periods, and recommends starting the survey when the client was a baby or small child as she is unlikely to condemn herself during this period. It is important that time spent in the present constructing and acting in support of the new core belief before going back into the past; going back with the old core belief still dominant will make the client's task harder to find supporting evidence for the new belief.
