Joseph Wolpe (1958) “astounded the therapeutic world, and infuriated his colleagues, by finding a simple cure for phobias” (Seligman, 1990 p.73). Wolpe’s parsimonious explanation was that phobias are not a symptom of a deep-seated psychological disorder, but rather it is nothing but the phobia itself. He found that he could cure the phobia through Pavlovian extinction procedures and the phobia would not reappear in another form. His techniques are still used today to treat phobias. 

Wolpe introduced thought-stopping techniques that included snapping a rubber band on the wrist of the client when they start to ruminate. He also had the clients yell “stop it” when they started to ruminate. Another type of technique is distraction, similar to avoidance and not desirable if the client is being taught coping skills.  Research has proven that Dr. Wolpe's techniques do not work.

There was a need to develop a technique that is easier to use, painless and effective, so I developed an extension of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is a cognitive thought-stopping technique. My technique is a cognitive process of understanding the ruminative process while integrating the techniques of disputing cognitive distortions. This cognitive technique initiates a simple decision tree for the client, thus the client starts learning stronger adaptive coping skills rather than using avoidance or distraction. My clients have stopped ruminating within one month. Learning coping skills that include thought-stopping and disputing cognitive distortions have given my clients resilience and the confidence to address problems on their own. They don’t feel the need to run away or distract to avoid their fears. 

Learn the BWT model of cognitive

How cognitive distortion and rumination fit together

A review of the various manifestations of cognitive distortion

A review of the history of psychological work done in this area

An in-depth look at rumination and how it starts

The importance of teaching basic communication skills to correct cognitive distortions

thought-stopping from the original developer.

In two days you will learn:

The proven methods for teaching cognitive thought-stopping techniques