ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author has discussed helping the client to identify the central mechanism that explains their nominated problem. He considers identifying the central mechanism, usually in the form of problematic cognitions. Epictetus’s famous dictum, ‘People are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them’, has been put forward as a saying that describes, in a nutshell, the role of cognition in the emotional disorders. In CBT approaches that hold the view that problematic cognitions or meanings explain such disturbances and need to be modified, such cognitions are variously described according to the approach. Partial list of problematic cognitions: negative automatic thoughts, cognitive distortions, dysfunctional assumptions, irrational beliefs and maladaptive schemas.
