ABSTRACT
Sometimes a coachee's emotional reaction to an event can seem disproportionate, occasionally greatly so, to what actually occurred. One method for uncovering these deeper beliefs is using the Downward Arrow Technique. By pursuing the personal meaning of the automatic, emotionally-charged thought (drilling down), the coach helps the coachee to reveal layers of thought until an underlying belief is located – the cognitive source of the coachee's strong emotion. This chapter discusses the case of Janet, in which the coach uncovers each thought and assumed to be temporarily true in the search for the belief. Trying to disprove her negative core belief simply kept her focused on it; when she was criticized, this again confirmed that she would never be able to prove the belief false, no matter how hard she tried. In coaching, the focus was on developing an alternative view of herself that was balanced and realistic.
