Trauma response worksheet
Helping clients understand thought errors, like the fortune-telling cognitive distortion, can empower them to reframe unhelpful thoughts and improve mental health outcomes.
This article provides an overview of this thought error and offers strategies for addressing it with clients, along with fortune-telling cognitive distortion examples.
We’ve included a free downloadable fortune-telling cognitive distortions worksheet that you can save to your electronic health record (EHR) and use in your practice.
What is the fortune-telling cognitive distortion?
Cognitive distortions are a type of distorted thinking that leads to misinterpretations of events or situations.
Most people experience cognitive distortions, but when they occur more frequently, they are associated with unhelpful core beliefs that reinforce negative thought patterns and can worsen mental health, contributing to cycles of anxiety or depression.
The fortune-telling thought distortion involves predicting that something negative will happen without evidence. For example, when taking a test, a client might think, “I’m going to fail this test and this class.”
Clients may also show other common cognitive distortions, including personalization, mind reading, catastrophizing, emotional reasoning, labeling, and minimizing.
Personalization
Personalization is when a client takes things personally, even when the situation has nothing to do with them.
For example, a client who is a parent might take the blame for a situation outside their control, such as their child being sent home from school after a group of kids misbehaved. The client may say, "I'm a bad parent. It is all my fault."
Mind reading
Mind reading is when a client assumes they know the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of others, even if those people haven't spoken.
For example, a client might walk into a bar, see a couple of people turn around, and think, "Everyone is looking at me. They must think I'm not cool enough to be here."
Catastrophizing
Catastrophizing is when a client dreads the worst possible outcome of a situation, despite facts to the contrary or assurances from others.
For example, if a client's partner isn't as attentive as usual, the client might think the partner wants to break up with them. They might say, "They didn't text me back. They must be over me, and they will end the relationship."
Emotional reasoning
Emotional reasoning is when a client believes that feeling a certain way automatically means the thoughts associated with that feeling are true.
For example, a client who feels anxious might say, "I feel anxious. I bet something terrible is about to happen."
Labeling
Labeling is when a client assigns a negative label to themselves or others based on an isolated event or behavior.
For example, a client might overgeneralize a mistake into a fixed identity. Instead of acknowledging the mistake, they might think, "I'm a failure" or "I'm stupid."
Minimizing
Minimizing is when a client downplays the importance of a person, event, or action.
For example, a client might refuse to take credit for something by saying, "It wasn't a big deal. Anyone could've pulled that off."
Fortune-telling cognitive distortion examples
Some additional fortune-telling cognitive distortion examples that clients may express include:
“I’m not going to get the job, so there is no point in applying.”
“If I speak at that presentation, I’ll make a fool of myself.”
“I’m never going to get over my ex. Therapy won’t work for me.”
“They won’t like me, so there is no point in going on the date.”
To help clients practice spotting and reframing these patterns, download our free fortune-telling cognitive distortions worksheet.
How to use the fortune-telling cognitive distortions worksheet
You can download and use the fortune-telling cognitive distortions worksheet in several ways:
Use the worksheet as a prompt to provide psychoeducation about cognitive distortions and fortune telling.
Give the client a copy of the worksheet to take home.
Share the fortune-telling cognitive distortions worksheet with coworkers.
Ask the client to reflect on the worksheet in between sessions, identify fortune-telling cognitive distortion examples, and report their findings at their next therapy appointment.
Combine this worksheet with other CBT-related worksheets, including our CBT triangle worksheet, putting thoughts on trial worksheet, CBT for anxiety worksheet, and CBT thought record.
Use this worksheet to provide training to interns or supervisees on using CBT to reframe common cognitive distortions.
Sources
Chand, S. P., Kuckel, D. P., & Huecker, M. R. (2023). Cognitive behavior therapy. StatPearls Publishing.
Grinspoon, P. (2022). How to recognize and tame your cognitive distortions. Harvard Health Publishing.
Maric, M., Heyne, D. A., van Widenfelt, B. M., & Westenberg, P. M. (2011). Distorted cognitive processing in youth: The structure of negative cognitive errors and their associations with anxiety. Cognitive Therapy and Research.
Sokol, L., & Fox, M. G. (2019). The comprehensive clinician's guide to cognitive behavioral therapy. PESI Publishing.
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