Often times, I find myself trying to explain cognitive distortions to some of my middle school kids. “The world will end if Johnny doesn’t ask me out,” “Nothing ever goes right for me,” or “I just know the reason Sarah sat across the room is because she hates me” sometimes make me feel like pulling my hair out!
Well, after looking around for awhile, I couldn’t find any colorful, easy-to-understand visuals or activities to help me teach healthy thinking habits that I liked….so…I made my own! Feel free to check it out at my TpT store here!
This activity pack features 10 common cognitive distortions people commonly experience. If left unaddressed, these flaws in thinking can make people more likely to experience stress, depression, and anxiety. The posters and activities are based on Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT) principles and help students to identify their own irrational, negative thoughts and replace them with rational, positive alternatives.
Includes:
11 color posters:
– All-Or-Nothing
– Jumping to Conclusions
– Maximizing Negatives
– Minimizing Positives
– Overgeneralization
– Personalization
– Catastrophizing
– Comparisons
– Emotional Reasoning
– Shoulds & Musts
– STOP poster for reminding students to stop negative thoughts
Activities:
– My Thoughts Worksheet (students identify negative cognitive distortions and find positive replacements)
– Name the Patterns Worksheet (students determine what type of distortion a given thought is and find a positive replacement)
– 24 “Make It Positive” cards to use in games or discussions
– 24 “Name The Pattern” cards to use in games or discussions
