ABC Model

Client can describe what happened (A) in factual detail and can describe the consequences (C) with clarity — often with significant emotion attached. When they reach the Beliefs & Behaviours box, the entry is thin: 'I felt like it wasn't fair,' 'I thought the situation was handled badly.' These are evaluations of A, not beliefs that explain C. The Beliefs & Behaviours box is the hardest to complete honestly because it requires the client to name the interpretation they applied — and that interpretation often reveals something they have not examined before. The client is solving for what to write rather than what they actually believed.

Frame the Beliefs & Behaviours box as the one that does the most work. 'A and C are relatively easy to fill in — what ha...