Page 172 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

counselors use the tool of cognitive restructuring to help clients identify, evaluate, and respond to negative
thoughts about diet or a health problem.

Cognitions

Cognitions are thoughts that occur in one’s stream of consciousness. Beck refers to them as “automatic
thoughts,” since they run through the mind automatically. Others refer to them ongoing “internal dialogue” or
as “self-talk.”1,4 Since our thoughts are subconscious and seldom noticed, we are barely aware of them even
though they can create powerful feelings.4 They may be positive, negative, or neutral and are usually believed
to be true.

Negative thoughts, such as “It’s not worth the effort to eat less” or “I’m too tired to exercise” are obstacles to
behavioral change, affect people’s feelings, and may decrease self-efficacy or people’s beliefs about their ability
to perform specific behaviors. (“I can’t do it”). This can lead to lapses or relapse in the behavior change
process. (“I’ll eat whatever I want.”). Individuals with positive cognitions, such as “losing weight is worth the
effort,” and perceived SE (“I can do it”) tend to call upon their coping skills and regulate their behaviors
better.

CASE ANALYSIS 2

Mrs. Jones: “I lost 10 lb once before. But it was just a fluke. I couldn’t do it again.”
YOUR RESPONSE:
Times when individuals are more likely to engage in self-talk include when they are integrating new
thoughts and actions, such as making lifestyle and dietary changes, performing a new job, or experiencing
intense emotions. According to Albert Bandura, cognitive processes play a major role in the acquisition and
retention of new behavior patterns.11 See Box 8-1 for examples of self-talk.

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