ABSTRACT
When a client talks about her problems in general terms it difficult for the therapist to tease out her NATs because concrete examples of the problems remain elusive. Also, emotions are more intensely felt in specific situations than they are general level. For these reasons it is important for the therapist to anchor the general problem in a specific context: CLIENT: There's no specific situation. I'm just a worrier. I always have been. End of story. THERAPIST: Are you worried about coming to therapy? What thoughts are going through your mind at this very moment to make you feel worried? CLIENT: What if you can't help me? What if therapy is a waste of time? Cognitive therapy might make worse with messing around with my mind. Instead of seeing worry as amorphous, the therapist isolates and elicits from his client worrying thoughts related to coming to therapy and these give the entry point to begin to understand her subjective experience.
