The ABC(DE)s of CBT

CBT, or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, is a well-known approach to understanding the link between our thoughts, feelings and actions. This post is a plain-language introduction to one popular CBT tool, the ABC model. It is education only, not therapy and not a substitute for care from a regulated health professional.

Talk therapy focuses on the present while taking into account past experiences and future expectations, and aims to help people ‘help themselves’.

Now, getting back to the subject, the ABC(DE)s of CBT provide a simple and effective approach to step back from how we are feeling in order understand why we are feeling this way. This model was created by Dr. Albert Ellis, one of the most influential figures in the history of CBT and is still in use today. Just as the alphabet is a foundation to help us understand the language of the English-speaking world, the ABCs of CBT provides a pathway to help us better understand why we respond or react in the ways that we do in certain situations. ABC stands for:

Activating Event - In our lives there are events that act as ‘triggers’, starting a process that may lead to a very quick response from us. The focus is usually on negative events that cause an unhealthy reaction in ourselves. However, going through this exercise using a positive experience to start helps us better analyse and understand the negative experiences as well.

Consequence - The way we normally see things that that an Activating event immediately triggers

a response or Consequence. We could be having a great day and one thought or external event causes us to react quickly and throw the rest of our day or even longer out of whack.

Belief - Hidden between A and C is a Belief or thought pattern that leads us down the path quickly to our Consequence or reaction to the situation. This is the hardest component to identify when looking back as this pattern is usually hidden deep down in our subconscious or even unconscious mind, where we aren’t even aware of our actions and thoughts without a conscious effort.

Dispute – Taking a more rational approach to this same event, we can review the ABCs of an event and dispute or challenge our Beliefs, with a factual or logical analysis. Events are rarely as bad as we think it is especially when we take the time to step back and reassess from a less ‘impared’ viewpoint.

Effect – As a result of the Disputing viewpoint, we are able to achieve a more positive effect or outcome from that same situation. Though hard to see when we live in the trigger->react mind, moving to the trigger -> pause/assess -> respond mindset will grant us the benefit of moving away from consistently negative though patterns.

An example of the ABC model is below. The Belief and Consequence are on the extreme end of the spectrum, but the intention is to show how the negative thinking process goes. - Activating event: My friend got a promotion and I didn’t. - Belief: I’m not as good as other people, I’m not worth promoting, I’m a loser, I’m not good at anything in life, I’m missing out on opportunities. - Consequence: Down, angry, worried. - Dispute: Just because my friend got the promotion doesn’t reflect on me at all. They are two completely separate occurrences. - Effect: Maybe I didn’t get the promotion this time, but I can find out how my friend did it. I need to understand the path to promotion for my role and company.

There is no silver bullet in real life, especially when it comes to better understanding our minds but by taking the ABC adopting this approach, we can re-train our brain to become more positive and silence the unwarranted negativity within us.