Thought challenging — identifying and evaluating the automatic negative thoughts driving adverse childhood experiences — is the core skill of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Identifying Automatic Negative Thoughts in Adverse Childhood Experiences
Automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) in adverse childhood experiences are fast, involuntary, and often taken as facts. They drive adverse childhood experiences while remaining unexamined.
Common ANT patterns in adverse childhood experiences: catastrophizing, all-or-nothing thinking, mind-reading, personalization.
The Thought Challenging Process for Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Notice the thought: 'I just had the thought that...'
- Identify the distortion: What type of thinking error is this?
- Examine the evidence: What actually supports this thought? What contradicts it?
- Generate alternatives: What's a more accurate and helpful perspective?
- Rate the change: How do you feel now compared to before?
Building the Skill Over Time for Adverse Childhood Experiences
Initially, thought challenging requires deliberate effort. With practice, the mind automatically generates balanced perspectives when adverse childhood experiences-related thoughts arise.