The FIVE-PART CBT MODEL and Your Problems

Objectives

• To introduce you to the Five-Part CBT model

• To understand how the Five Part model functions

• To recognize how your own problems fit into the Five Part Model

• To set expectations for the next CBT session

Keywords: CBT | Stress | Anxiety | ADHD | Depression

Introduction

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) functions on the premise that our thoughts, moods, behaviors, physical sensations, and environment are all interrelated. As you progress through these CBT sessions with me, I will focus on one model in particular, the Five Part CBT model (FPM).

In this session of my series on CBT, I am going to introduce you to the FPM and explain how it operates, along with some real world examples that you can use to apply the model to your own life’s problems.

At the end of this session, I will guide you through a worksheet that helps you identify your problems in life, whether you recognize what those are right now or not.

When you complete this session, you will understand why making small changes in your life today will result in large positive changes to your life as a whole. You will also have actionable steps to start making such changes today.

Reviewing The Last Session

In Session One (Getting Started With Cognitive Therapy), you learned about the basic theory underlying CBT, as well as being introduced to the general model of CBT. Additionally, you learned about what problems CBT helps reduce and whether CBT is appropriate for you. You also learned how to get the most out of learning and applying CT skills to your own problems in life. I introduced you to my approach to CBT, and set expectations for how I present CBT material going forward.

The CBT Five-Part Model

The general model of CBT I introduced you to in Session One is, in fact, one of numerous CBT models. That particular one was largely comprehensive while there are other, more simplified models. One such model is called The Five Part Model (FPM).¹ An important difference in this version is that it accurately reflects how there is no “starting point” in the process. One common misconception about CBT is that everything starts with thoughts and goes from there.² The FPM allows you to understand how everything you experience is interrelated.

If you remember from Session One, one of the things you learned was that our core beliefs (e.g. assumptions) sit at the center of our experiences of thoughts, moods, and behavior. The FPM places these things as “Environmental” factors (shown in the bottom left corner of the graphic above). Additionally, the FPM introduces an explicit factor of “Physical Reactions” (or “Sensations” as shown above). This is an important aspect when considering problems like stress, anxiety, or depression that usually have strong physical components to such experiences.

The interconnectivity of the FPM means that changes to any one of the inner four personal components of the model will impact the other three, while the fifth component of the model, the Environment, is constantly a factor influencing all the other four. “Environment” here does not refer to ecology, but to your context in your life. Your home, your workplace, even the city, state, or country you live in is your environment. It encapsulates your interpersonal relationships—your family members, your local community, your social circle, and even your culture in general.

But the Environment is also a two-way street. Our thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and sensations can ultimately affect our environment. For example, your spouse or coworkers are a part of your environment. If you have corrupted thoughts about a coworker who you suspect has been gossiping behind your back, this will cause you to feel an irritable mood around them. Then, your behavior will in turn influence your environment, such as cutting off your coworker’s sentences or losing your temper around them. 

Next, you need to think about the problems you are experiencing in your life and how they map onto the Five Part Model. I will guide you through this below.

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¹ Greenberger, Dennis, and Christine A. Padesky. Mind over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think, Guilford Press, New York, NY, 2016.

² ibid.