{"id":43820,"date":"2021-07-22T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-22T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=43820"},"modified":"2021-08-02T16:22:37","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T20:22:37","slug":"intermediate-beliefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/intermediate-beliefs\/","title":{"rendered":"Intermediate Beliefs: What Are They?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are intermediate beliefs? What can you do to reduce harmful intermediate beliefs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intermediate beliefs are conditional rules about situations in your life. Some intermediate beliefs can be harmful or unhelpful, like \u201cI should lower my goals so I don\u2019t get disappointed.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cbt-therapy-techniques\/\">CBT techniques<\/a> can be used to identify unhelpful intermediate beliefs and change them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Find out more about intermediate beliefs and how to handle them below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What Are Intermediate Beliefs<\/strong>? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to fully understand intermediate beliefs, you first need to know about core beliefs. These are fundamental understandings regarded as absolute truths\u2014just the way things are. Example: \u201cI\u2019m incompetent. They are often not explicitly articulated by the patient consciously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> Early experiences may have developed these\u2014by parents, early authority figures; by a traumatic event; by apparent negative treatment by others (accurate or not). These generally fall into three categories: \u201cI\u2019m helpless.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m unlovable.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m worthless\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Given the same core belief, people may have different intermediate beliefs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Say two patients have the same core belief, \u201cI\u2019m not good enough to accomplish my goals.\u201d One patient may have the intermediate belief, \u201cI should work as hard as I can at all times.\u201d Another patient may have a very different belief, \u201cI should lower my goals so I don\u2019t get disappointed.\u201d<\/li><li>Why do different intermediate beliefs arise? This can be because of genetic predisposition or environmental cues early in life.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to identify intermediate beliefs:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The patient may voice the belief, as an automatic thought or when directly asked about intermediate beliefs.<\/li><li>Provide the first part of an assumption, and the patient fills it in.<ul><li>\u201cIf I don\u2019t get an A, then ___.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Spot patterns to automatic thoughts\u2014an intermediate thought may drive many of these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/negative-automatic-thoughts\/\">automatic thoughts<\/a>.<\/li><li>Use the downward arrow technique: Ask what the automatic thought means to the person. (Asking what the thought means <strong>about <\/strong>the person tends to show the core belief.)<ul><li>Example questions: \u201cIf that\u2019s true, so what?\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s so bad about\u2026\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s the worst part about\u2026\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Use questionnaires like the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale or Personality Belief Questionnaire.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep probing until you cause a negative affect in the patient, or the patient repeats her answer. This is about as deep as you can go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Educate the patient about beliefs:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Show the patient how beliefs are learned and can be changed.<ul><li>Ask the patient to think about someone who has different beliefs. Clearly the other person learned different beliefs, and so they\u2019re not absolute rules. Also, clearly the other person isn\u2019t a failure (or whatever the extreme belief would lead the patient to believe about herself).<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Examine the advantages and disadvantages of beliefs.<\/li><li>Ask if this is an idea the patient would like to change.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Modifying Intermediate Beliefs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In comparison to automatic thoughts, modifying intermediate beliefs may require more persuasion than just Socratic questioning. The key is to <strong>clarify the dissonance of the patient\u2019s beliefs<\/strong>; deeper beliefs may require more visceral and narrative depictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a range of techniques to use to try to modify the student\u2019s intermediate beliefs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Phrase the rule\/belief as an if-then assumption<\/strong>\u2014this makes it easier to spot the logical fallacy.<ul><li>\u201cIf I ask for help, I\u2019ll be seen as weak.\u201d vs \u201cDon\u2019t ask for help.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Present more functional beliefs, that are more qualified versions of the old belief<ul><li>\u201cIf I don\u2019t get an A, I\u2019m a failure.\u201d can be turned into \u201cIf I don\u2019t get an A, I\u2019m just human, and I still tried hard. It\u2019s better than 0%.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Use Socratic questioning.<ul><li>\u201cLet\u2019s say there are 2 people with the same problem. One does [the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/maladaptive-coping-mechanisms\/\">maladaptive behavior<\/a>] and feels worse. The other does [a functional behavior] and feels better. Who\u2019s the more competent person?\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Set up a behavior experiment.<ul><li>Act \u201cas if\u201d the belief weren\u2019t true. Then reflect on how that behavior makes the person feel.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Role play as the patient\u2019s intellectual side and emotional side, with each of you taking a side and swapping turns. As the intellectual side, you explain the rational approach to the situation. As the emotional side, you convey the emotional reaction and automatic thoughts.<ul><li>Explain the rationale to the patient that this will let you see what\u2019s really maintaining the belief.<\/li><li>Be the intellectual side first, to give an example of rational reasoning for the patient. The patient will start as the emotional side.<\/li><li>After the role play, switch sides. The patient will voice the more functional intellectual thoughts. As you play the emotional side, use the patient\u2019s own words\u2014this will help highlight the dysfunction of the patient\u2019s emotional thoughts.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Cognitive continuum\u2014establish that the situation isn\u2019t binary, and the patient is likely better on the scale than absolute zero.<ul><li>Ask where she is on the scale. Then ask whether there is someone who is worse, and what that person would be doing. Keep drilling until it\u2019s someone who\u2019s at absolute zero. (For example, if the patient is worried she\u2019s an academic failure, absolute zero may be someone who goes to zero classes. The patient can see that she\u2019s better than this person.)<\/li><li>This technique is useful for patients with \u201call or nothing\u201d cognitive distortions.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Ask the patient to imagine another person with a different belief. Then if the patient respects that other person, help her model that belief for herself.<\/li><li>Ask the patient to counsel someone else in her situation, such as:<ul><li>Someone she knows who has the same issue<\/li><li>Imagining if their child had the issue<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Self-disclosure\u2014you\u2019ve gone through a similar situation before and came up with a solution.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>After developing a new, healthier belief, assign homework for the patient to look for situations to practice the new belief and behavior.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t worry about extinguishing the bad behavior entirely. Reducing the belief level to 30% or below is usually sufficient.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are intermediate beliefs? What can you do to reduce harmful intermediate beliefs? Intermediate beliefs are conditional rules about situations in your life. Some intermediate beliefs can be harmful or unhelpful, like \u201cI should lower my goals so I don\u2019t get disappointed.\u201d CBT techniques can be used to identify unhelpful intermediate beliefs and change them.&nbsp; Find out more about intermediate beliefs and how to handle them below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,9,43],"tags":[443],"class_list":["post-43820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motivation","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-cognitive-behavior-therapy-basics-and-beyond","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Intermediate Beliefs: What Are They? - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Knowing about intermediate beliefs is key if you want to fully understand cognitive behavioral therapy. 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