Jumping to conclusions is a cognitive distortion, or a faulty pattern of thought, in which a person makes unhelpful assumptions that are not supported by evidence. These “jumps” are leaps into the unknown. Jumping to conclusions is a particularly common cognitive distortion because we all must draw conclusions based on partial or incomplete information. Therefore,…
Blaming is a cognitive distortion, or a faulty thought pattern, that causes a person to wrongly assign the responsibility of a negative outcome either to oneself or another. This cognitive distortion occurs when one wrongly blames another for one’s own actions, or when one wrongly assumes responsibility for others’ actions. Examples of blaming others Often,…
The CBT triangle (or cognitive triangle) is a model for illustrating the relationship between thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. This model acts as a map for understanding the relationship between these three points (thoughts, behaviors, and emotions), and how we can make changes to habits of thought and behavior to help us feel better. This model…
Overgeneralization is a cognitive distortion, or a faulty thought pattern, that causes a person to generalize the outcome of one or several negative events to all similar events. It is the error of drawing a big conclusion from a small sample. We all have to make inferences and assumptions based on incomplete information. Otherwise, we…
Online counseling (or online therapy) is the practice of providing outpatient psychotherapy services remotely through the use of an online platform. In this article we will trace key points of the history of online counseling from the founding of the discipline of psychotherapy in the 19th century to the present day. 1890-1910: Origins of psychotherapy…
William Shakespeare is recognized as one of the greatest dramatists in world history, and much of this praise is due to his uncanny understanding of human nature, which he uses to color the personalities throughout his works. While his accomplishments have been lauded for centuries, there is at least one major Shakespearean innovation that may…