SLWK 606 Chapter Notes - Chapter 16: Socratic Questioning, Cognitive Restructuring
Document Summary
Many patients experience automatic thoughts not only as unspoken words in their mind, but also in the form of mental pictures or images. Be alert to the possibility of patients" thoughts occurring in imaginal form, because few patients spontaneously report images and some have difficulty identifying them even when prompted. Synonyms include mental picture, daydream, fantasy, imagining, and memory. Some patients can identify images, but do not report them because their images are graphic and distressing. If you suspect this, normalize the experience of images. Normalizing and teaching patients about images helps reduce their anxiety and makes it more likely that they will be able to identify their images. You must be diligent in teaching patients to identify images until they catch on. Can help you and your patients conceptualize their problem better, lead to cognitive restructuring of the image, and provide relief. Encourage patients to continue visualizing a spontaneous image until one of two things occurs:
