ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the factors to work out whether they still have an impact on patient today. Core beliefs are mental 'short cuts' that help us to make sense of the world around us. The problem with core beliefs, however, is that once they are moulded, it can be very difficult to change them—whether they are helpful or not. The way in which psychotherapists core beliefs affect their behaviour tends to mean that psychotherapists find their in situations that provide information that reinforces their core beliefs. Identifying core beliefs can be a difficult task as psychotherapists are rarely conscious of these thoughts; nonetheless it is possible. Modifying unhelpful core beliefs is difficult because these are held 'deep-down' and may have been affecting psychotherapists thinking and behaviour for a long time. Changing core beliefs is made even more difficult because of their very nature. Perhaps take them through the same process that patient have done with patients unhelpful core beliefs.
