Hello, my friends, and welcome back to Not Another Mindset Show. I’m your host, Dr. Casey Joe. My goal with this podcast is to take the science of mindset and behavior change and distill it down into actionable takeaways for you. Together, we’re going to unpack research around motivation, self sabotage, willpower, and so much more.

And we’re going to take all of that and translate it into strategies you can immediately apply to your health, fitness, relationships, business, marketing, clients, all of the things. But just to be clear, it’s not all serious and sciencey around here. We’re going to have a ton of fun too. And I’m so excited to share all of this with you.

All right, let’s go ahead and get into the episode. Hello, my friends. I am very excited to talk about cognitive behavioral therapy today. I sound like such a nerd at the beginning of the majority of these episodes. Like, I’m so stoked to tell you about this, like, really science y, research backed method.

You’re gonna absolutely love it. But if that’s not me, I don’t know what is. And with cognitive behavioral therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy. Honestly, just like all of these psychological therapies in general. The biggest, most important thing for you to remember as a health and fitness coach, as a health and fitness professional who is not a therapist.

is that you are not a therapist. And I have to let, I will probably say this seven more times throughout this episode because it is so important. And I also don’t want this to come off as me teaching you how to do cognitive behavioral therapy, because that is not what we are doing here. And Even inside the Health Mindset Coaching Certification, which is sort of like my bread and butter program to teach you how to leverage the science of mindset and psychology with your clients for behavior change, we harp on this a lot.

Because although I am pulling in different concepts from these psychological therapies and these theories that are long standing when it comes to behavior change, please remember. to stay in your scope of practice and cognitive behavioral therapy is outside your scope of practice as a health and fitness professional, as a coach, as a trainer, wherever you find yourself kind of in that health and fitness professional realm.

However, that does not mean we can’t leverage some of these concepts and strategies that were born out of cognitive behavioral therapy. Because at the end of the day, I think we all know this, that As a nutrition coach, as a fitness coach, as a health and wellness coach, like wherever you are on the spectrum, going to your clients and telling them what to eat and how often to move is not going to actually help them change their behavior.

So we need to better understand client psychology, and we have so much information out there, including some of these concepts inside cognitive behavioral therapy or any other therapies that we can still leverage. And with that said, your clients can actually leverage some of these concepts on their own.

They don’t even need you. They don’t even need you. Um, I’m actually going to link a workbook that I have shared with so many of my clients throughout the years that is essentially cognitive behavioral therapy in, in a workbook fashion that you could use with yourself, that your clients can use with themselves.

That can be really helpful for just breaking through negative thought patterns, which is a really big part of CBT and a lot of what we’re going to be talking about today. So, ultimately, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, it focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, in order to help behavior change.

Because at the core of a lot of behaviors that are difficult to change. If we have clients who are struggling with consistency in the gym, in their eating behaviors, there is a core belief that may be holding them back. So if you can help your clients uncover what those core beliefs are, and like start to attack that, rather than just constantly changing their nutrition or exercise plan, that’s really where you’re going to see lasting behavior change.

So that’s why I want to pull on some of these concepts from cognitive behavioral therapy. In fact, there is a concept, I guess we can call it a concept, or just like a spin off, rather, of cognitive behavioral therapy that has been termed cognitive behavioral coaching. So this is where we are taking Aspects of CBT and translating it into coaching application.

So that’s a lot of kind of what I’m going to be talking about with you guys today. And I wanted to start with a quote from Dr. Aaron Beck. He’s actually the developer, the, the main. The main guy that developed cognitive behavioral therapy, he’s like the name that you think of, you think CBT, and immediately the guy associated with it is Dr.

Ehrenbeck. He said, the way individuals perceive a situation is more closely connected to their reaction than the situation itself. I’m going to say that again because it is such like a, it’s such a perfect quote that describes everything that CBT is and like why it is so powerful. The way individuals perceive a situation is more closely connected to their reaction.

Then to the situation itself. So I think we can all understand this right that how we perceive things how we assign meaning to things that often dictates our reaction from a situation. More so than like what the reality of the situation actually is and so that happens with our clients a lot and a lot of this is hinging on something that we call we, I say we, as in just like inside the research when we’re talking about people.

Psychology and behavior change is cognitive distortions and cognitive biases and actually inside level two of the health mindset coaching certification, we have an entire module dedicated to distortions and biases and better understanding what those look like and these sort of, I guess they’re, they’re more or less like thinking errors or thinking mistakes.

And the truth is. As humans, we’re, we’re pretty irrational. We like to think that we are rational beings, but a lot of times the way that we think and the way that we assign meanings to situations are actually pretty irrational. So with CBT or CBC, Cognitive Behavioral Coaching, with these kind of methods and strategies.

The goal is to help your clients recognize some of these thinking errors that they have. And there are so many. And they all have names. And there’s literally a million of them. But a few of the most common I wanted to write down and like share with you just so you could better understand what I’m saying about when I mention, um, cognitive distortions, thinking errors, thinking mistakes.

So the first one is called, first one of the few that I have written down is called filtering. So this is kind of like, kind of like the opposite of rose colored glasses. So everything is sort of seen in a negative light. And this isn’t just to say like, oh, you just have like a negative mindset or a negative perspective on things because Here’s the thing.

All of us have a negativity bias. We do do that. We do focus on the negative more than we do the positive. And it is, it’s sort of like a protective mechanism in a way, because if we’re looking out for the negative, then we can protect ourselves from those negative things. If we’re paying attention, we’re looking for danger in our environments type of thing.

However, with filtering, it’s constantly seeking out the negative and like kind of pushing aside the positive. So if you notice a client who is only focusing on, you know, the negative aspects of their inability to make the progress that they’re wanting to or how difficult things are and they’re not noticing the progress that they are making or the positive things that are coming from the work that they’re doing, that is a filtering distortion.

Another big one is all or nothing or black and white thinking, which we talk a lot about on this podcast. So, sort of like, you know, we have a client who, if I can’t make it to the gym twice per week, why would I even go once, you know? Or, if I had the cookie, then I’m just gonna have the entire sleeve of cookies.

That sort of thing, because there’s, there’s no point, right? So, Really, we want to help clients work to see more of the gray area and see the nuance and have more flexibility in their thinking, which we’ve talked a lot about cognitive flexibility on the podcast too. So, this is fun for me because now we’re getting into, what is this, episode like 38?

Somewhere around there? Um, and I’m able to kind of tie back a lot of the concepts that we’ve talked about on the podcast. So I will do my best if you’re just turning, tuning in for the first time, or if this is just like your first or second episode to let you know when there are other podcast episodes related to certain topics, because I quite literally can not go into depth on everything every single time.

Um, the next one is jumping to conclusions. So the tendency to like jump to conclusions that maybe your, your client may be thinking Mm hmm. Oh, my family member’s not going to like that I am going on this health and fitness journey because it’s going to keep me from going out to drinks with them or whatever.

And they’re just jumping to these conclusions before maybe even having a conversation with their family members. And the last one I have written down just as another example is blaming. So essentially just always seeing. situations as the fault of someone else or something else and not taking personal responsibility.

And I wanted to put this one on here for sure, because I also see coaches do this a lot too. They blame the client all of the time for their lack of progress, their lack of consistency, sticking to the plan, the self sabotage, yada, yada, yada. When the reality is, if you could kind of zoom out a little bit and instead go, okay, Obviously this is a relationship, this is a partnership, and we are both responsible for my client’s success.

However, that doesn’t mean I should sit here and blame the client for all of these things and just, you know, throw up my hands and say, well, if they can’t stick to the plan, I can’t show up at their door and drag them to the gym. Instead, you should be thinking, how can I support this client? How can I make it more likely that they will get to the gym consistently, even if I can’t show up at their door and drag them there, right?

So, just some examples of how these cognitive distortions can show up, these errors in our thinking. And then, now, We can get into essentially what you can do about it as a coach, and that kind of ties in really well with that blaming aspect. It’s like, no, there’s, there’s so much that you can do to support them.

So as the coach, you really want to be able to help your clients identify some of these errors in the way that they’re thinking, and then start to reframe, assign different meaning, maybe kind of create a more accurate depiction of reality. With your client, that does not mean. And I repeat, that does not mean just telling your clients that they are thinking inaccurately.

Just telling your clients that how they’re thinking is incorrect and not helpful. Because that is not helpful. So instead we really want to ask good questions and guide our clients to recognize some of these thinking errors themselves. And that’s going to be just ultimately so much more powerful for them and also So much more helpful for you.

So there are a lot of different concepts and underlying themes inside cognitive behavioral therapy or. This, the sister version being cognitive behavioral coaching, and I wanted to pull out just a few of them to talk with you about today. So, the first one is cognitive restructuring, and it’s basically just kind of a fancy term of this process of identifying and challenging negative thought patterns.

And so often our clients get stuck in these negative thought patterns, and they’re just looping through these. Often inaccurate beliefs or beliefs from a previous situation, and then that’s turning into like something that is not even reality, but it’s still guiding their thoughts, their feelings, and therefore their actions.

So what we’re trying to do here is help clients. Essentially reach this awareness of the negative self talk that they have and better identify the reality of it. And I feel like I’m kind of talking in circles now, so to give you a more I really like to walk through coaches the specific process of evidence for and evidence against.

So this is something that I teach inside the certification as well. One of many, many, many strategies when it comes to cognitive reframing or restructuring. And what What I would have you do with your client is ask them, first and foremost, like, what is this negative belief, this negative thought pattern that keeps coming up?

And so if that’s, I just don’t think I can lose weight and maintain it, and I’ve tried everything, it hasn’t worked for me, you know, that sort of narrative that we hear all of the time. So. Kind of pinpoint what that belief or thought is and then ask your client What is the evidence that you have to support that thought or belief and you have to remember there is some evidence Otherwise, they wouldn’t be having that thought in the first place something happened to them They’ve had situations before they’ve had conversations before they’ve had previous coaching experience something Something has led them to have this belief.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be showing up So we want to sort of validate them, that how they’re feeling has some accuracy to it. So where is the evidence coming from? So your client may come back and say, Well I have tried a lot of things in the past, and every single time it feels like, even when it starts to work, or it works for a short period of time, I always find myself back at square one.

It’s like, okay, well that, that makes sense that you would feel this way, and like going into maybe a new coaching relationship, or starting something new, you know, you’re going into a diet phase or whatever that you’re hesitant because in the past you’ve put in time and effort and it hasn’t worked out.

So with that said, what is the evidence against that thought? That’s sort of like step number two here. So your client may come back and say, evidence against this thought is, well, I have been successful in the past, I just haven’t been able to maintain that success, and I’m also working with you for the first time, so I’m hopeful that this is going to bring me results.

A new experience and new strategies and new methods that I haven’t tried before, so I can’t really, like, compare past situations to current situations. Obviously, these examples that I’m giving you from the client’s perspective would be, like, beautiful responses to hear, right? And it might require a little bit more prompting to help them arrive at these kinds of responses, but that’s kind of the idea here.

So now we have got the evidence for the belief. The evidence against the belief and then sort of step three, I suppose, going to your clients and saying, okay. So now that we have the evidence for and the evidence against, can you tell me, like, what’s the most accurate version of this belief or of this thought pattern that you keep finding yourself in based on the evidence for and the evidence against?

So the client may come back and say, okay, well, I have not been super successful in the past, and by successful I mean anytime I have even seen some weight loss, I haven’t been able to maintain it long term. However, I’m really aware that. Other people have been able to be successful and there’s probably a method out there that does work for me and I want to remain hopeful that this is something that is possible for me.

Okay, great. That feels so much better than I’m just not capable. Because of all of my past experiences telling me that I’m not. The reality is, the past experiences are valid. However, where you are now is somewhere different. So we don’t want to necessarily compare. And everything that I just said in the last 20 seconds could be something that you say to the client.

You could say, like, in reflecting back kind of where you’re at and everything that you just shared with me, does this feel like a more accurate depiction of what’s going on? So you wouldn’t, you could ask them for their Like picture of reality based on the evidence for evidence against and or you could say, here’s what I’ve gathered.

Let me know if this sounds correct and kind of help guide them in that direction. And then as a final step, I always like to ask clients. How it felt to like go through this type of exercise, how they feel differently now compared to how they felt before when they were kind of stuck in this negative thought loop, because if we can help them tie positive experiences, positive emotions to this process, it’s going to help them better stick with it, stick to that new, updated, more See Real depiction of their thoughts because now it has this like positive association with it.

So we really want to like get into like well now tell me how this feels. How do you feel differently now? That’s going to kind of just make it more salient in their brain going forward. So, So, that is one, literally just one strategy related to cognitive restructuring. And the next concept I want to talk about is reframing.

And you’ll notice that everything I’m talking about here kind of all relates together because ultimately the main focus of cognitive behavioral therapy or cognitive behavioral coaching is to help clients work through these negative thought patterns and challenge them. into something that is much more beneficial, much more real, much more positive.

So, with reframing, this is essentially just like working to reframe negative thinking, irrational thinking, and to bring clients back to the reality of the situation. So again, kind of like a similar goal, but there’s different ways that this can look. And one strategy I like here is The what if strategy, so let’s say you have a client who kind of going with the same example that I was sharing before Let’s say you have a client who is At the beginning of their health and fitness journey They’re looking to change their lifestyle to more Healthier habits and behaviors and something that they get hung up on a lot is going out to dinner with their friends because their friends are expecting them to drink just the same as they did before or order the things that they used to before.

So now your client is a little bit nervous about going in and saying like, I’m just going to have one to two drinks max, like I’m not going to have a bunch of drinks like I used to, or I’m really going to try to order healthier options off the menu. And they’re worried what The people around them are going to think of that.

So this what if strategy is essentially just going to the client and saying like, Hey, you know your situation best and you know what this is going to feel like for you. But I want to run through some what if scenarios with you. And I also would really love to see if you can come up with a couple more after I share some with you.

So one what if could be, What if your friends and family that you’re out to dinner with, So what if a bunch of them are actually thinking about switching up their lifestyle a little bit and they would like to get a little bit healthier too, but they haven’t really mentioned that for the same fears that you have.

So what if the people around you really also want to drink less or, Order healthier options and you get to actually lead the charge. And once you have a conversation with them about what you’re doing, they may be on board with you too. What if that’s a possibility? Or what if it doesn’t actually feel bad in the moment?

Like when you are choosing to say no to the drink, or you are Ordering something healthier than what other people may normally expect from you. What if that actually doesn’t feel bad and it feels really empowering? And it feels like you are making a choice for yourself no matter what other people think?

What if that is the reality? Or what if even If the people around you are responding negatively or giving you some shit for not ordering another drink or skipping out on dessert or whatever it looks like, what if that has nothing to do with how they feel about you and everything to do with how they feel about themselves?

So maybe they wish that they had More control over their decisions, and they’ve been feeling a little bit out of control with their lifestyle and really wish that that could be the decision that they’re making for themselves, but they’re not. So, when they maybe give you some shit, it’s really because they don’t feel good about themselves.

What if that’s the reality? Do any of those sound like that they could be true? And you could go back and have the conversation with your clients, and chances are they could come back and be like, yeah, you know, you’re right. Those scenarios could be just as true. And that’s where you can have a little bit more of a conversation about what things actually could look like and how maybe they are jumping to conclusions.

You see there’s that cognitive distortion that comes up before actually being in the situation or fully understanding the situation. And again, this is where I would encourage you to also ask your clients to come up with some other what if scenarios because chances are those what if scenarios that they come up with are probably The reality.

So that’s a really good just kind of mental exercise to bring your clients through when it comes to reframing situations. The last one I have for you is just all about meaning and interpretation. Because all too often, clients take how they are feeling, which feelings, emotions, are all just coming from their interpretation of a situation.

They’re taking. those feelings and emotions and turning it into action. So, how they’ve assigned meaning to a situation, like, this is gonna feel bad, this isn’t going to be good, I’m not going to like this, I’m not going to be successful. They’re assigning meaning to, you know, whatever plan or situation that is sitting in front of them.

They then take that as fact and then act on it. So that’s, that’s, that’s like the issue at hand here. So what I really like to do with clients is to ask them how they interpret situations and what meaning they’re assigning to things. So if they’re nervous about an upcoming event, maybe they’re going to a wedding and they’re worried they’re going to overeat or overdrink like they have in the past.

And they have like some anxiety about making the right choices in that situation. Literally ask them. I’d love to hear a little bit more about your interpretation of the situation. I can tell that there’s like some negative emotions and feelings that are associated with this. So like, what meaning are you assigning to this?

And just see what they come up with after that. Because what they divulge after a question like that can be so, so, so crucial. And a big thing that I am constantly reminding my students, my mentees, my friends, myself, is that Thoughts can be just thoughts. They don’t have to mean anything else. You can feel anxious about a situation, you can feel worried about a situation, you can feel nervous, you can feel unsure, you can feel uncertain.

You can feel anything and still act in an entirely different way that is not related to that thought. So, This is a reminder too that any of these conversations should be autonomy supportive. So instead of us telling our clients, oh, this is how you’re assigning meaning to things. This is just your interpretation.

Those are just your thoughts and they’re not real. That’s not going to work. It’s not. And in fact, you may get some incredible pushback and start to go in the opposite direction that you want to with your clients. So instead, this is where, yes, asking them a little bit more about the meaning that they’re assigning to things, the interpretation that they have with it, and their beliefs around a situation and how that then leads them to act a certain way.

Because ultimately, these thoughts, these feelings, these emotions. then do turn into action when they really don’t have to. So we’re trying to kind of like reel our clients back into understanding the meaning and interpretation that they are putting on things and how that’s impacting their actions and how ultimately they can still have those thoughts and feelings and not.

Take those actions that they can be, they can live in the same space, you can feel badly about something and then not act in a way that has to do with you feeling badly. In fact, you can go an entirely different direction. Okay, I feel like I said the same thing 30 different ways. So hopefully one of those 30 made sense to you.

But I’m just really wanting to have that conversation with clients and help them realize that you can feel a certain way and then act an entirely different way. Um, and that’s. Easier said than done, right? But even just starting to have those conversations with clients and helping them see that there is alternative directions can really make a big difference.

So, okay, that is all I have for you. I feel like I could literally go on and on and in so many different directions when it comes to cognitive behavioral therapy slash coaching, not slash, they are different things. Therapy is different than coaching. Very different. Um, I could go a lot of different directions here, but I really just wanted to pull out sort of, like, the meat and the core of this therapy, this type of coaching to give to you in a more succinct episode.

Of course! If you want more, the Health Mindset Coaching Certification is really where, where you need to be, and we are opening up enrollment so, so soon for our spring cohort, and I’m really excited because this is our 10th round, 10 rounds of HMCC. That’s wild, um, but so cool, and we’re doing it in, doing it up in like a, a really big way.

We’ve restructured a lot of stuff inside the program, making it even easier for you to digest all of the scientific concepts and directly apply it into your coaching. And I’m just really, really stoked for this next cohort. And I’m feeling really, really good about it. Okay, my friends, that is all I have for you.

If you want to learn more about HMCC or anything else, That I mentioned inside this episode. Make sure you check out the show notes. All of that information should be there. If you need me, if you have any questions for me, if you want to go deeper on any of these topics, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

You can find me on Instagram. Shoot me a message there. So often, you guys have ideas or questions that you send me in the DMs related to the podcast, and they do turn into episodes every single time. So if you got something for me Please reach out. But that is all I have for you, and I’ll see you next time.

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All right, my friends, that is all I have for you this time. I so appreciate you being here and love to see you prioritizing your growth. I’ll see you next time.