Cognitive Distortions

[Rev Chris Augustine]

Beck has done a commendable job of bringing together the best of Behavioral Therapy and RET (Rational Emotive Therapy) under the umbrella of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the therapy of the day. David Burns has done an excellent job of popularizing CBT. However, though these ideas are mostly consistent with Biblical principles, I am more interested in how the Bible addresses these issues. My question is, in regard to the ten popularized "Cognitive Distortions" what would more likely be the ten distorted thoughts as God would outline them? I'd love some feedback on this one.

 

[mnorian]

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[LovebirdsFlying]

Other than the Bible, David Burns and his book Feeling Good has done more to help me than anything else. I'm mainly posting to subscribe. I'd be interested in following this discussion too. We'd need to re-word the ten cognitive distortions from a Biblical perspective, right?

For information, a link to the distortions being discussed:
https://content-calpoly-edu.s3.amazonaws.com/hcs/1/documents/counseling/Common Cognitive Errors.pdf

 

[Gregory Thompson]

Beck has done a commendable job of bringing together the best of Behavioral Therapy and RET (Rational Emotive Therapy) under the umbrella of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the therapy of the day. David Burns has done an excellent job of popularizing CBT. However, though these ideas are mostly consistent with Biblical principles, I am more interested in how the Bible addresses these issues. My question is, in regard to the ten popularized "Cognitive Distortions" what would more likely be the ten distorted thoughts as God would outline them? I'd love some feedback on this one.

One I noticed in the gospels where people seemed to be getting along with Jesus but then he'd see right through it and call them out on it. To God, thinking you know someone when you don't, pretending you like someone when you're just using them, and other forms of hypocrisy is a form of distortion that God cannot stand.

 

[LovebirdsFlying]

When the crowd was about to stone Jesus, He pointed out His many good deeds and asked, "For which of these are you stoning Me?" The crowd was totally overlooking the good He had done, and wanted to zero in on what they thought was blasphemy. Think "discounting the positive" and "mental filter."

When the enemy wanted to make himself "like the Most High" because he wasn't content with being second in command, I see "all-or-nothing thinking."

Mental filter shows up in the Garden of Eden. All they could focus on was the one thing God told them not to do. With a bit of an assist from the enemy's deliberate overgeneralization. "Did God really say you can't eat from ANY of these trees?" No, only one of them.

Emotional reasoning ("I feel it, so it must be true") comes in with 1 John 3:20, "If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything." This addresses people who have trouble accepting that God has forgiven them. They haven't forgiven themselves, so they feel condemned. They need to take assurances in His promises, no matter what they feel.