#1 Way To Break Mental Health Barriers: The Thought-Action Repertoire

We are losing the war on mental health. That much is clear.

With over a decade of active involvement in the field and plenty of personal experience, I have observed the continuous struggle against mental health issues.

I'm not claiming to have all the answers, but I want to share a helpful concept with you: the “Thought-Action Repertoire” (TAR), originally coined by Barbara Fredrickson.

The Concept of Thought-Action Repertoire (TAR)

TAR is the range of actions one can perceive and subsequently decide to take.

It's a simple yet powerful concept. Imagine someone struggling with depression; their world shrinks, social isolation creeps in, and opportunities seem to vanish. This narrowing of perceived actions reflects a limited Thought-Action Repertoire.

A negative mood becomes a proclivity, which then becomes a trait and, eventually, a part of one's character. That's why a shrinking thought-action repertoire is a downward spiral that needs to be broken.

The Speed of Change is Self-Fulfilling

Before delving into practical ways to help someone turn their TAR around, let's tackle some limiting beliefs around progress that are crucial to break.

As a practitioner, inspiring the belief that change can be fast is vital. If you try to "manage expectations" and are afraid to "overpromise," you risk failing to inspire the hope that is necessary even to start.

This is not a trick. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

By showing your clients how quickly life can improve, you encourage them to take the initial steps and flip the downward spiral upward.

Therapy Does Not Need to Take Forever

There's a stigma around therapy, possibly perpetuated by psychoanalysis, that it takes years to make fundamental progress.

I'm here to call absolute and utter nonsense on that notion.

Therapy can be brief and incredibly effective when focusing on root causes instead of symptoms and on behavioral change rather than just talking.

(Be sure to look into “Solution-Focused Brief Therapy” for more on this.)

These are the two biggest shortcomings of psychoanalysis: (1) the belief that talking about problems or the past will lead to progress, and (2) the idea that progress takes a long time.

Self-efficacy cannot be fostered by talk therapy alone.

Increased self-efficacy comes from doing what one knows one should be doing.

Fostering a Positive Thought-Action Repertoire

Small steps in the right direction don’t just foster the belief that one can do what one should do to improve things; they constitute proof of this.

So, how do you foster a positive TAR?

By gathering Proof of Progress.

Start by identifying the smallest possible steps a client can take to move towards their goal.

Shrink the timeframe. Focus on today, not this year, month, week, or even tomorrow. Can you go outside and walk 2 miles today? Good. Let's do that. Tomorrow it will be today again.

Can you walk 2 miles again? Great. That's 14 miles after a week, 14 more than last week. Incredible progress. It's time to celebrate success, inspire hope, and set new goals.

The client has proven their capabilities, and their beliefs and self-efficacy will change as a result.

All behavior is non-neutral

The principle of non-neutrality states that things are either working for you or working against you. There is no neutral.

This is exactly the case regarding the Thought-Action Repertoire; it’s a feedback loop that is always present.

The main thing is to ensure it’s compounding in our favor.

Key Takeaways

1. Therapy can be quick and hyper-effective if both you and the client believe that to be the case.

2. Focus on taking baby steps to change actual behavior.

3. Reward and celebrate Proof of Progress to solidify the belief in quick and lasting change and increase a client’s Thought-Action Repertoire.

Over to you

I wrote this article as a starting point for discussion.

Therefore, I’m super curious to hear from you. Please leave your insights and ideas as a comment below so that we can all learn from each other's experiences.

Yours,

Seph