ABSTRACT
Several techniques are used in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to change dysfunctional core beliefs (CBs). Trial-based cognitive therapy (TBCT) uses the trial-based thought record (TBTR), also called "Trial I", which was developed to specifically change dysfunctional CBs. It received this name because it involves a simulation of a court trial, and it was inspired from the work of the same name, The Trial, by the Czech writer, Franz Kafka. The first use of TBTR was assessed in a one-hour session during the course of therapy in a preliminary study in which, after taking part in a jury simulation, patients believed less in their negative CBs, and corresponding emotions decreased their intensity. In the second study by the same group, TBTR's first use was also evaluated in a trans-diagnostic replication of the preliminary investigation. One hundred and sixty-six patients were treated with TBTR, and their adherence to the negative CBs and corresponding emotions were measured.
