Cognitive Distortions

Cognitive distortions are patterns of thinking that CBT presumes are inaccurate or unhelpful. At its core, CBT operates through identifying and “correcting” these distortions.

Common CBT Distortions

• Black-and-white thinking: Seeing situations in absolute terms (all-or-nothing, good-or-bad)
• Catastrophizing: Assuming the worst possible outcome
• Mind-reading: Assuming knowledge of others’ thoughts or intentions
• Overgeneralization: Drawing broad conclusions from single events
• Magnification/minimization: Exaggerating negative aspects or minimizing positive ones
• Emotional reasoning: Believing feelings reflect objective reality
• Should statements: Rigid expectations about how things “should” be
• Personalization: Taking responsibility for events outside one’s control
• Filtering: Focusing exclusively on negative aspects while ignoring positive ones

CBT Skills

CBT skills typically include: thought monitoring, identifying cognitive distortions, challenging irrational beliefs through Socratic questioning, behavioral experiments to test beliefs, and developing alternative “more realistic” thoughts. The fundamental assumption is that thoughts cause feelings and behaviors, and changing thoughts will change emotional responses.

The Problem with the Distortion Framework

The fundamental flaw in CBT’s distortion framework is that it assumes a “normal” baseline of experience. What constitutes a “distortion” is determined by what seems reasonable or typical within a therapist’s frame of reference—which is often grounded in relatively safe, predictable life experiences.

For trauma survivors, what therapists label as “distortions” may actually be accurate assessments based on their experiences of extreme situations. The distortion framework pathologizes trauma-informed survival logic by comparing it to the relatively safe baseline of therapists who haven’t experienced systematic harm.