CBT Animals - CHARLESTON COUNSELING RESOURCE PORTAL

1 CBT Animals 12 Stories, follow up questions based and worksheets on cognitive distortions for elementary aged kids CBT Animals Purpose: Cognitive distortions can be difficult for adults to understand, so explaining them to children can at times feel impossible. These stories are created to help children (and adults) better understand thinking patterns that can cause them to get stuck . The follow up questions and worksheets can help children identify different ways of thinking to help them get unstuck . Directions: Read the story to the child and ask the follow up questions. To help the child understand the concepts each story includes a worksheet. You can use the puppets as a way for the child to stay engaged in the story and the CBT Animals page as a way to help remind the child of the skills they have learned. Cut along the lines of the story to create a booklet. Extra activity: Use different color pens or highlighters to mark the feelings, negative thoughts and positive thoughts in the stories.

2 (Ex. Yellow highlight feelings, green negative thoughts, blue positive thoughts, purple-body cues). CBT Animals Blaming External Control Fallacy Right Not taking Giving control of feelings Always needing to be responsibility for to the outside world. right actions Overgeneralization Fairness Catastrophizing Using words like always, Thinking things are not Thinking things are never and nothing fair to you going to be way worse than they really are Filtering Shoulds Black and White Thinking Only paying attention Using words like Things are all good to the good or bad should and must . or all bad things. can make you feel guilty Personalization Labeling Jumping to Conclusion Blaming yourself for Giving labels to yourself Thinking you can read something that was or others people's minds or not your fault. know the future. Closet Counselor 2015. Follow Up Questions: Talk about body cues. What things told Francis she was getting upset?

3 Talk about feeling disappointed. Why do you think Francis was disappointed? Filtering Fish At the party what did Francis do when she was feeling disappointed? A Story About Filtering Was Sally upset that she got two of the same gifts? What did Sally say when she got two dolphins? Why was Francis still upset when she got home? Talk about filtering. What does it mean to filter something? How was Francis filtering what happened? Have you ever been disappointed? What did you do? Have you ever filtering out the good stuff of a day and focused on only the bad? Closet Counselor 2015. shouted as she swam upstairs. Her dad quietly followed Filtering Fish her up. I think I know what is going on here, he said, Francis had a very important birthday to go to on Friday. you have a filtering problem. Francis did not know what It was her friend Sally's 9th birthday and she was excited to that meant. You see a filter is used to take out the junk give her friend a present.

4 Sally loved dolphins and she that is bad and keep only the stuff that is good. Like in our wanted to give Sally a stuffed dolphin as a gift. When fish tank. The filter takes out the dirt from our tank and Francis got to the party she had her present and card leaves us clean water. Francis asked if that meant she ready to go. After playing pin the tail on the fish and had dirt in her brain. No, said Francis' dad, it means eating cake, it was time for Sally to open presents. Sally you are only looking at the things that are bad. Can you had opened two gifts already, one was earrings and the think of some of the good things that happened at the other was a movie. Francis was very excited about Sally party? Well, the cake was good and I was the closest to opening her gift. Sally opened a gift her brother had putting the tail on the fish.. gotten her. Francis was horrified to see Sally's brother That is awesome, her dad said, but something else had given her the same exact dolphin she had brought.

5 Good happened. Can you tell me what it was? Francis Francis could feel her face getting hot. She was feeling couldn't think of anything else good. Her dad then angry and embarrassed. She wanted to run up and hide explained even if she had two of the same dolphin toys her gift. Sally then opened Francis' gift. When she saw Sally was still happy with her gift- if not even happier. Francis said, Dad I think you are right. Maybe I did have a she had two of the same stuffed Animals , she wasn't sad filter problem. I filtered all of the good stuff out and only like Francis thought she would be. Sally smiled a big, fish focused on the bad. Francis' dad was very proud Francis smile and said Thank you, now I have a friend for my could tell she had a broken filter in her brain and had fixed other dolphin. it! When Francis got home, her dad saw she was really quiet. Why are you so quiet? Francis' dad asked. Francis explained what had happened.

6 Francis' dad replied, That is great she loved your gift! It's not great, Francis Closet Counselor 2015. 1. What does it mean to filter thoughts? Tracking my filtering thoughts: _____. _____ True/. Negative _____ Date Situation Positive Thought Thought 2. When is a time you filtered thoughts? _____. _____. _____. 3. What are 2 things you can think next time you are filtering your thoughts to make it so you do not filter? Closet Counselor 2015. Follow Up Questions: Talk about a time when you had to do something for the first time on your own. How did you . feel? Have you ever been upset because you forgot to Toxic Tiger bring something to school? What does it mean to feel anxious or anxiety? A Story about What was one sign that Timmy's body was Overgeneralization telling him that he was anxious? What is toxic thinking? Have you ever thought something bad would happen because it happened once? What did Timmy do to make it so he wouldn't forget anything?

7 Have you ever learned how to do something from an older kid? Is it a big deal to miss your bus? Why or why not? Closet Counselor 2015. asked him why he was out there so early. Because I. Toxic Tiger (Overgeneralization) missed the bus yesterday and since I missed it once, I will Timmy Tiger was the youngest of 3 brothers: Tommy, Troy miss it every day, unless I get out to the bus stop super and Terrance. Every year since kindergarten Timmy rode early each morning, Timmy explained. That's not true, . this bus with at least one of his brothers, but not this year. said Troy, that kind of thinking is toxic. It is not! . This year Tommy was in high school and Troy and Terrance argued Timmy. Is to, said Terrance, if something were in middle school. So on the first day of school happens once it does not mean it will always happen. So Timmy was ready to go. He had his lunch, his backpack you forgot your notebook yesterday. It is no big deal.

8 I. and his tennis shoes. On the way to the bus stop, Timmy's still don't understand how that is toxic, said Timmy. Troy mother shouted out from the house come back Timmy explained to Timmy if you get stuck on bad things always you forgot your notebook. Timmy ran back to get his happening to you it can make you sick. How am I. notebook from his mom. By the time he left his house he supposed to make sure I get to the bus on time? asked was running a little late. Timmy ran to his bus stop, but Timmy. Terrance told Timmy he made a list of things he when he got close he saw the bus was just leaving. needed to pack each day and Troy talked about getting to Timmy felt anxious. He had missed the bus. He went the bus a little early, but not 30 minutes early. And even back to his mom and told her he needed a ride to school. if you do miss the bus mom can always bring you to school. It is no big deal. Plus, you smell toxic from The next morning he did not want the same thing to sleeping in your clothes all night.

9 Just then Troy and happen. Timmy packed all of his stuff the night before Terrance's bus came. and slept in his clothes. This time he was sure he wouldn't miss the bus. At night he kept having dreams The next morning, Timmy followed his brothers' advice. where he missed the bus. When he got up the next He made a check list to make sure he didn't forget anything and got to the bus 5 minutes early. He was morning, his stomach felt like it had a big knot in it. He relieved when the bus came and he made it on time. For was worried he would miss the bus, so he went out to his the rest of the school year, he never was late for the bus, bus stop 30 minutes earlier, when his brothers in middle but if he ever was he knew it was no big deal. school had left. When they got to the bus stop, Troy Closet Counselor 2015. 1. What does it mean to have toxic thoughts? Tracking my toxic thoughts: _____. _____ True/. Negative _____ Date Situation Positive Thought Thought 2.

10 When was a time you thought something bad might happen? _____. _____. _____. 3. What are 2 things you can think next time you have toxic thoughts to make you feel better? Closet Counselor 2015. Follow Up Questions: Talk about a time when you thought you were bad at something or made a mistake. Have you ever been sad because you thought you messed something up because you made one mistake? Do you think Wendy is a stupid whale? Why or why not? What is black and white thinking? Tell me about a time you had black and white thinking. What could Wendy do next time she makes a small mistake? Do you know what color it makes when you mix black and white? Tell me what you think it makes to think in grays? Can you give an example of something that is gray thinking? Closet Counselor 2015. thinking' are the thoughts that tell you things are either all Wendy the Whale: Black and good or all bad. Wendy looked confused. Her mom gave her an example.