Which of the following best describes a component of youth CBT for cognitive distortions?

• A. Identify negative automatic thoughts and restructure them; use thought records.
• B. Ignore negative thoughts and focus only on behavior.
• C. Discuss thoughts only at the end.
• D. Use medication to alter thoughts.

Answer: (A)

In youth CBT, addressing cognitive distortions means helping the child notice and challenge automatic negative thoughts rather than letting them go unexamined. Identifying those thoughts and restructuring them using thought records gives a concrete, developmentally appropriate tool to examine evidence, generate alternatives, and practice more balanced interpretations. Thought records guide the process: note the situation, the emotion, the automatic thought, evidence for and against it, and a more balanced thought to try next. This directly targets how a child thinks about events, promoting cognitive flexibility and leading to healthier emotions and behaviors. Other approaches miss essential CBT elements: ignoring thoughts neglects the cognitive target, discussing thoughts only at the end delays intervention, and medication to alter thoughts falls outside CBT’s focus on thinking patterns.