CBT Appraisal Model

The CBT Appraisal Model worksheet is a transdiagnostic formulation tool. The centrality of appraisals underpins all of the disorder-specific cognitive behavioral models and this format can be helpfully used to explore the contribution of meaning to the client’s experience.

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Professional version

Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.

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Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.

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An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.

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Introduction & Theoretical Background

A fundamental tenet of the cognitive behavioral model is that emotional disorders are the result of inaccurate or unhelpful appraisals. These appraisals lead to emotional distress and to behavioral reactions which are accompanied by unintended consequences. These reactions frequently serve to reinforce the appraisal. Cognitive behavioral interventions typically aim to:
  • Identify the way in which a client is appraising a triggering event
  • Evaluate and update the relevant appraisal
  • Re-evaluate the appraisal so that it is more helpful and balanced
  • Experiment with alternative behaviors
  • Re-evaluate beliefs and assumptions which predispose the individual appraising situations in unhelpful ways
The CBT Appraisal Model worksheet is a transdiagnostic formulation tool. The centrality of appraisals underpins all of the disorder-specific cognitive behavioral models and this format can be helpfully used to explore the contribution of meaning to the client’s experience. In particular, this formulation tool can be used to:
  • Socialize clients to

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Therapist Guidance

“The cognitive model says that it is not events which bother us, but rather that it is the way we interpret events that really matters. Could we use this cognitive appraisal model worksheet to explore some of the experiences that you have had, and the sense that you have made of them?” 

Clinicians should ask the client to describe a recent time when they felt distressed. The key intervention for therapists is to elicit and explore the client’s appraisals of a triggering event. Helpful questions include:

  • “When that event happened, what did you make of it?”
  • “How did you interpret that event?”
  • “What was your fear about that?”
  • “What did that say about you, other people, or your future?”
  • “What do you think led you to interpret it in that way?”

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References And Further Reading

  • Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. Guilford press.
  • Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer publishing company.
  • Salkovskis, P. M., Forrester, E., & Richards, C. (1998). Cognitive–behavioural approach to understanding obsessional thinking. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 173(S35), 53-63. 

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