thought record
a common cognitive restructuring tool used to help individuals identify and change negative, unrealistic, and maladaptive thinking. Individuals record events that triggered distress, list any automatic thoughts that were elicited by each event, and cite evidence to support or disprove these thoughts. They then use their evaluation of the evidence to form more balanced, realistic, or objective thoughts. Thought records can be used during therapy sessions to recall past events or as self-monitoring homework. [introduced by Aaron T. Beck]