Explanation of Cognitive 15 Behavioral Testing Technology: Consolidating New Ideas with New Behavioral Effects

Interpretation of behavior testing technology

-Consolidate new ideas with new behavioral effects.

Ms. Zhang is a little annoyed recently. Her relationship with her boyfriend was interfered by her boyfriend's mother, who said a lot of bad things about her. Nevertheless, her boyfriend said that he should be the master of his own affairs and will love her forever and accompany her all his life. But she is still worried that her boyfriend will leave her under the pressure of her mother. In her eyes, her boyfriend is not the same as before, and she is a little cold to her, although it is still the same as before: sending her to work, texting and chatting until late at night.

She is very worried about losing her boyfriend. Can she keep this boyfriend? Can you love each other forever, as my boyfriend said? The answer to this question depends on how Ms. Zhang handles it. With her current anxiety and paranoia, this relationship will end sooner or later. If she can change her ideas and practices, there is still great hope.

For this case, we used the "cost-benefit technology" in the sixth lecture to make her understand the advantages and disadvantages of giving up the old concept that "he will listen to my mother and will not get along with me, but he is dealing with me" and accepting the new concept that "our relationship is threatened, our relationship should be better and we should face this threat together". Make her willing to make changes.

In order to urge the helper to apply new behavior strategies, "behavior testing technology" can be applied to help her.

1. What is behavior testing technology?

In Baker's cognitive therapy, patients have unreasonable old beliefs (or automatic thinking) and new beliefs (or concepts) that need to be accepted. Giving up or accepting these beliefs needs the support of practical experience or evidence. The experience or evidence that supports or refutes these beliefs may happen in the past, just as the evidence technology of both the prosecution and the defense draws conclusions from the positive and negative experiences that happened in the past. If past experience or evidence is not enough to change old beliefs and establish new ones, then we need to supplement new experience or evidence.

This requires patients to seek support or refutation from present or future natural experience or evidence. A better way is for patients and therapists to jointly design a behavioral experiment to test whether a certain concept is correct, so as to achieve the purpose of giving up old beliefs or accepting new beliefs. Behavior testing technology is put forward according to this idea.

Behavioral test technology refers to a cognitive therapy method in which the therapist and the patient jointly design a behavior plan for the patient to implement when they encounter past experience or insufficient evidence to support or refute the old and new beliefs, and use this behavior result to test whether the old and new beliefs are reasonable. According to this definition, we can know that behavioral testing technology can be used to deny old beliefs and support new ones.

2. The steps of behavior testing technology

Behavioral testing technology is used to verify or deny a belief, and the premise of implementing behavioral testing technology is to clarify the belief. Do old irrational beliefs need to be denied, or do new and more reasonable beliefs need to be accepted? The two must be one of them. Next, the therapist will discuss the specific trial plan with the patient, including what kind of object, scene, time, surgical plan and so on. Sometimes, we will discuss the handling of various emergencies. After leaving the clinic, the patient carries out the plan in real life according to the pre-made plan. At the next consultation, the patient will report the experimental situation and results to the consultant, and the consultant will evaluate the degree of belief change with the patient.

3. Application examples of behavior testing technology

We take the case at the beginning of the article as an example to illustrate the application of behavior testing technology. Through questioning skills, the helper realized his automatic thinking: "He will listen to his mother and will not get along with me. He is dealing with me. " Such automatic thinking makes her feel anxious. She especially wants to seize this relationship, and she becomes more critical of her boyfriend. When they are together, they often have doubts and arguments.

The counselor made her realize that "it's just that the relationship is threatened. If they face the threat together, love can continue." Help-seekers understand this concept, but they still have difficulties in acceptance and behavior, so psychological counselors decide to apply behavior testing technology to help help help help help-seekers make behavior changes consistent with the new beliefs.

Therapist: From our conversation just now, you found that although your boyfriend drives you to work as usual, you are not happy because your mind is telling yourself that he will listen to his mother and won't get along with me. As for the present situation, we also talked about that this is only a threat to the love relationship. If two people face this together, love can continue, don't you think?

Patient: Yes.

Therapist: Now you use 0- 100% to evaluate it. Do you believe in the new view that only when the love relationship is threatened can two people continue to face love together?

Patient: OK, I think there is 30% confidence.

Therapist: His mother opposes your love. Is this between you two or is this about your boyfriend alone?

Patient: You mean, this is between us?

Therapist: Yes, his mother opposes your relationship, so naturally it has something to do with you. You should face her mother's opposition with him. Will it be better than your boyfriend alone?

Patient: I think so.

Therapist: "It's just that the relationship is threatened. If two people face it together, love can continue." What do you think can be done to verify whether this idea is correct?

Patient: I don't know what to do.

Therapist: That is to say, when her mother objected, your boyfriend faced it alone, and now you face it with him. You can have a look. When you face it together, will you find that your's relationship is as good as in the past and you are full of confidence in their future?

Patient: Oh.

Therapist: When his mother objected, boyfriends used to face it alone, but what can we face together now?

Patient: Nothing seems to matter. His mother's objections were all addressed to him, and I was not there.

Therapist: It seems so. Let's have a look. What did you do after his mother complained or expressed opposition to him?

Patient: I didn't do anything

Therapist: How do you know the information of his mother's objection?

Patient: Seeing her boyfriend depressed. When I asked him, it was probably his mother who said something against our love.

Therapist: How did you react when you found out?

Patient: I feel a little lost. I don't think he is strong enough, and our relationship is threatened.

Therapist: let's do an experiment in this situation: if you see your boyfriend depressed, you ask and find that his mother opposes your love. What do you think you can do? If at this time, if you want to "only our love relationship is in danger, if we face it together, can love continue?"

Patient: Do you mean that I should show my words and deeds and face them together?

Therapist: If you face it together, what will you say and do to him, or what will you do together?

Patient: I think I can tell him that it's all right. As long as we are on good terms, your mother will finally agree to let us be together.

Therapist: And then what?

Patient: Go out for a walk or play with him.

Therapist: Good. What else do you think you can do?

Patient: What do you think of letting his father and aunt support us?

Therapist: That's a good idea. Who will you seek support from first?

Patient: I think it is my aunt. Her aunt likes me better.

Therapist: OK.

Therapist: OK, we just discussed two behavior plans. The first plan is that when your boyfriend hears that your mother is opposed to your relations, you face it with him. You tell him that as long as we have a good relationship, mom will eventually agree, and then go out to play with him. The second plan is that you and your boyfriend spend more time at your menstruation's house to gain her favor and try to get her to say something nice in front of her family and mother. Is that so?

Patient: Yes.

Therapist: Can you do it? When are you going?

Patient: We can go to his aunt's house with my boyfriend this week, help them do something, and then talk about things at home and ask her to help us.

Therapist: What about the other plan?

Patient: I will do it, too. I think if I know this situation, I will comfort him, and then take him out to play games in Internet cafes, and his mood will be better.

Therapist: It sounds like you already know what to do when you go back. I want to say: this is just an experiment to test the correctness of the concept that "this is just that our love relationship is in danger, and if we face it together, love can continue", depending on the development of things.

Patient: If it was an experiment, I wouldn't be so stressed (laughs).

Therapist: So, you must remember to evaluate your belief in this belief in time after completing the experiment.

Patient: I see. I'll try it when I get back.

After the helper came home, he went to his aunt's house with his boyfriend the next day and asked her to help persuade mom and dad. She got the consent of her aunt, and they were very happy after coming out of her aunt's house. She 85% believes in the belief that "their feelings are threatened and they face it together". On the fourth day, my boyfriend's mother chattered a bunch of objections. My boyfriend came back in a bad mood, and the helper encouraged him. Then they went to the Internet cafe together. 60% of the seeker's faith. The next week, I came to the consulting room, and the therapist asked her to evaluate her current beliefs, and she gave 60%.

From 30% before behavior test to 60% after behavior test, it shows that patients' acceptance of new beliefs has improved obviously. This is mainly because behavior change has a positive effect, thus consolidating new beliefs. If the new belief is more consolidated, patients will be willing to act according to the new belief and things will develop in the desired direction.