The Most Important Ingredient in CBT

Most clinicians think “thought” when talking about CBT. In our CBT Certificate Course, we have been able to fully understand that to help patients and clients, the Belief-Result/Belief-Identity Pathway needs to be part of the whole framework. For as we are currently seeing in our Neuro-Linguistic Programming Certificate Course, we are our beliefs, our belief systems are limiting, and we shall have a limited life as long as we continue with our limiting belief systems.

Furthermore, we have taken ample time in the beginning of our CBT Certificate Course to elaborate on other crucial reasons why the Belief-Result Pathway or the Belief-Identity Pathway is so significant:

1. If our values make us, well, our values come from our belief systems
2. If, like William James, the father of American Psychology said, “Our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task will affect its successful outcome,” well, our attitude comes from our belief systems
3. And, as David Hume said, “Each mind contemplates a different beauty,” and our varied perception determines the type of meaning we assign to every single situation. Our perception is itself determined by our attitude, which is determined by our belief, which means there again, our belief systems ultimately determine how we perceive ourselves, others, the world, our past, future, and our present life circumstances. 

Now, it does not stop there:

1. We assign meaning to events via our perception, this type of meaning, in turn, determines our focus and attention. This means what we focus on, and what we give attention to, ultimately is based on our belief systems
2. Our focus engenders a series of associated thoughts, which determine how we feel, the mood we are in, and our range of emotions. There again, we can clearly see how we feel, which is related to the types of thoughts we are focusing on, which, in turn, are related to the type of meaning assigned, from how we perceive the situation, and from our attitude, all of which, ultimately derives from our belief systems
3. Our feelings of course determine our actions, our behaviors, which then become our habits, leading to our results, which fuel or reinforce our identity. All of this, in turn, strengthens our belief systems, which have been driving the whole pathway to start with.

Bottom line, as the British philosopher, James Allen said,

“The outer conditions of a person’s life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs.” Or, “The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working.”

In other words, the CBT concept of addressing the core beliefs in our patients and clients cannot be overrated. 

Yet, some questions remain: How do we most effectively and efficiently help others address their core beliefs? How effective have we truly been at doing that? Might we be missing something? Might there something else that we could be doing that would yield much better results?

In a previous article entitled, What Leads to True and Lasting Behavior Change, we discussed that in order to fully address behaviors we ought to fully address beliefs, and to fully address beliefs, we are to look at what is behind those belief systems. We saw that what is behind our belief systems is our Normal Blueprint, and we then agreed that to fully understand and address our Normal Blueprint, we ought to look at what is behind it, and behind it, is our Natural Blueprint.  

In other words, we can help others through the use of a number of CBT techniques and exercises. However, just like we have in any problem-solving process model, the best way to truly solve a problem is not to address its superficial cause, but rather, to go to the root of the issues and address that. The mechanism of illness, disease, pain, or suffering shows its effects in our Normal Blueprint. But the root cause is not in our Normal Blueprint, rather, in our Natural Blueprint. To be the most effective at helping others address their core beliefs, then, is to go and address the problem at its root; it is to go to the Natural Blueprint.

 In several previous articles, we have talked about Integration, Disintegration, The Process of Integration, and The Triad of Integration. We also have written about the 3 Fundamentals, delineating each one of them, the Fundamental of Mind, the Fundamental of Thought, and the Fundamental of Consciousness. If you recall, we explained that while the Fundamental of Mind is the Intelligence Center, the Fundamental of Thought is the Operant Factor, The activating Agent, the Driver. But we also explained that the Fundamental of Consciousness, that which allows us to both experience while being aware that we are experiencing is the Decisive Factor, is where the money is, where the secret is, and where it all lies. The Fundamental of Consciousness decides, helps us decide and allows us to decide what beliefs are predominant, what thoughts are predominant, which thoughts we entertain, and which ones we end up focusing on and paying attention to. The most important ingredient in CBT then is our Fundamental of Consciousness. It is what will allow us to best help our patients and clients with their core beliefs. 

In subsequent articles, we will look into this most important ingredient. What is it, why is it the most important ingredient, and how does it work? We will be addressing all these questions and more. Meanwhile, we will see you at CBT and Action, where we will be implementing most of what we have covered so far through a series of cases, while also learning additional CBT skills.

See you then,

Karen and Mardoche

Karen Dubin-McKnight, PhD, LCSW, is a Columbia-trained Social Worker with wide clinical, teaching, and supervision experience. She also has a background in management, mentorship, and leadership that spans almost 20 years. Her added passion is in advocacy, coaching, public relations, and mediation. Her goal is to ensure that social workers and women feel empowered and have a voice “at the table.” She has previously held Executive level positions, and two other directorships in different organizations. She is currently Adjunct Faculty at Columbia University School of Social Work and Adelphi University School of Social Work. She also maintains a private practice, working with individuals who have experienced loss and trauma, and also provides clinical and management supervision.

Mardoche Sidor, MD is a quadruple board-certified psychiatrist, with board certifications in Psychiatry and Neurology (General Adult Psychiatry), Child and Adolescent, Addiction, and Forensic, Psychiatry. He has training in public and community psychiatry, and advanced training in psychopharmacology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Family Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Strategic Intervention. He also has additional training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic psychotherapy, Play therapy, and Couples therapy. He has clinical, teaching, and supervision, experience; he has mentorship, coaching, and management, skills and experience; and he has experience as a primary care physician, in public speaking and writing. His overall purpose is to help heal the world, through an increase in awareness, a shift in belief systems, and an education that empowers. He speaks and writes fluently in four (4) languages—French, English, Spanish, and Creole, with intermediate proficiency in Portuguese and Italian. Dr. Sidor is the author of 3 books and is currently working on several others.