Psychology and Mental Health

Unit II

● Interpersonal approaches to Mental Health: Communication and Conflict--non

violence communication, the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
● Cognitive distortions--personalization, catastrophizing,polarised thinking,shoulds
and musts, mental filtering, fallacies (control, change, and heaven’s reward) A-B-C
model.
Interpersonal approaches to Mental Health
Communication: the transmission of information, which may be by verbal (oral or
written) or nonverbal means (see nonverbal communication). Humans communicate to
relate and exchange ideas, knowledge, feelings, and experiences and for many other
interpersonal and social purposes.

Conflict: the occurrence of mutually antagonistic or opposing forces, including

events, behaviors, desires, attitudes, and emotions.
Non-Violence Communication

Nonviolent Communication (NVC), developed by Marshall Rosenberg, guides us to

reframe how we express ourselves, how we hear others and resolve conflicts by
focusing our consciousness on what we are observing, feeling, needing, and requesting.
In any moment, there are two ways to enhance connection & understanding: (1)
vulnerably express our own feelings & needs, or (2) empathically listen to the feelings
& needs of the other. These are different choices when we when we are in conflict:
namely, fight, submit or flee.
OBSERVATION (free of judgments, labels, diagnoses, opinions, etc.)
“When I see/hear/notice…”
FEELING (free of thoughts)
Examples of feelings when needs ARE met: Affectionate Confident Engaged Excited Exhilarated
Grateful Inspired Hopeful Exuberant Joyful Calm Refreshed
Examples of feelings when needs are NOT met: Annoyed Angry Disgusted Uneasy Detached Tense
Embarrassed Tired Sad Vulnerable Scared Pain
“… I feel …”
NEED (universal human needs free of strategies)
Examples: Beauty Autonomy Empathy Mourning Honesty Love Meaning Safety Respect Community
Contribution Mutuality Authenticity Transparency Acceptance To be valued Play Support
“… because I need/value …”
REQUEST (free of demands)
“Would you be willing to …?”
The Four
Horsemen
of the
Apocalypse
Criticism refers to attacking or putting down your partner’s personality or character rather
than his or her behaviour itself. When you criticize your partner you are basically implying
that there is something wrong with him or her. Using generalizations and words: “You
always” or “You never” “You’re the type of person who …” “Why are you so …” are
common ways to criticize someone and is usually done with the intent of making you right
and your partner wrong.

Contempt is any statement or non-verbal behaviour that attacks your partner's sense of self
with the intention to insult or psychologically abuse him or her. It communicates disgust and
condescension and puts you on a higher ground ("I'm smarter/better/kinder than you are").
Defensiveness is an attempt to protect yourself, to defend your innocence or to ward off a
perceived attack. Making excuses (“It’s not my fault…”, “I didn’t…”), cross-complaining
(meeting your partner’s criticism with a complaint or criticism of your own) and yes-butting
(start off agreeing but end up disagreeing) are all forms of defensive behaviour.

Stonewalling happens when rather than confronting the issues with your partner, you take
evasive action such as tuning out or turning away. You simply become non-responsive. You
might actually physically leave the room or withdraw from the interaction while staying in
the room. Common responses include stony silence, monosyllabic answers or changing the
subject. Non-verbal behaviour may include not maintaining eye contact or crossing one’s
arms.
Personalization

One of the most common errors in thinking is taking things personally when they’re not
connected to or caused by you at all.

You may be engaging in personalization when you blame yourself for circumstances that aren’t
your fault, or are beyond your control.

Another example is when you incorrectly assume that you’ve been intentionally excluded or
targeted.
Catastrophizing

This distorted thinking leads people to dread or assume the worst when faced with the unknown
— despite a lack of evidence supporting such predictions. When people catastrophize, ordinary
worries can quickly escalate.

For instance, an expected check doesn’t arrive in the mail. A person who catastrophizes may
begin to fear it will never arrive and that, as a consequence, it won’t be possible to pay rent, and
the whole family will be evicted.
Polarized Thinking

Sometimes called “all-or-nothing” or “black-and-white thinking,” this distortion occurs when

people habitually think in extremes without considering all the possible facts in a given situation.

When you’re convinced that you’re either destined for success or doomed to failure, that the
people in your life are either angelic or evil, you’re probably engaging in polarized thinking.

This kind of distortion is unrealistic and often unhelpful because reality often exists between the
two extremes.
Over generalize

When people overgeneralize, they reach a conclusion about one event and then incorrectly apply
that conclusion across the board. In other words, you might assume that one negative event means
every subsequent event thereafter will be negative too.

For example, you score low on one math test and conclude that you’re hopeless at math in
general. You may have a negative experience in one relationship and then believe that you just
aren’t good at relationships.
Shoulds and Musts

This distortion is statements of what a person “should” do, “must” do, or even “shouldn’t” do.
The statements are enforced on themselves or others.

These rules create a lot of pressure, imposing a set of expectations that is not likely to be met.
Feelings of guilt, frustration, and even anger or resentment could occur from disappointment.

Should Statements Example

Statements like, “I should be exercising more," create expectations that are not likely to be met.
The pressure created from the “should” statements makes it difficult to meet those expectations
and when the failure occurs there is guilt and frustration which makes you less likely to make
another attempt.
This thought distortion assumes that others should change to suit their own interests.

The person will pressure others to change because they feel the change will bring them happiness.
They are convinced the happiness is dependent on the person changing.

Fallacy of Change Example

A person might pressure their partner to change a few of their manners. They believe their
partner is perfect in every other way except those few minor things and expects those changes
will make them even happier.
Mental filter is a term used to describe one type of cognitive distortion, or faulty thought
pattern, that can often lead to higher levels of anxiety and depression. When thinking through
a mental filter, a person is focusing only on the negative aspects of a situation and filtering out all
of the positive ones

Heaven’s Reward

Heaven’s Reward Fallacy distortion is based on the reasoning that you should be rewarded based
on how hard you work.

Similar to the Fallacy of Fairness, we will be disappointed because most things in reality aren’t
fair. This leads to feelings of frustration, anger, and resentment.
The control fallacy cognitive distortion is defined by two beliefs, external and internal control
fallacies.

External Control Fallacy

External Control is the belief that a person’s life is completely controlled by external factors and
fate has already been decided. This distortion creates the feeling they have absolutely no control
over their situation.
A person cheats and lies to their partner, when they leave they feel that it is all the other person's fault for leaving.
They think that they had no control over what happened but they fail to see how their actions affected what happened
to them.

Internal Control is the belief that a person has complete control of themselves and their
surroundings. This belief assumes you are responsible for the pain and happiness of those around
you. If someone isn’t happy, they will assume it was their fault.
A colleague made a technical error on a task at work. This mistake created severe consequences for other tasks. You
feel guilty and responsible because when you reviewed their work you missed the mistake.
 ABC Model

The ABC model was created by Dr. Albert Ellis, a psychologist and researcher.

Its name refers to the components of the model. Here’s what each letter stands for:

● A. Adversity or activating event.

● B. Your beliefs about the event. It involves both obvious and underlying thoughts about
situations, yourself, and others.
● C. Consequences, which includes your behavioral or emotional response.
1. A – Activating Event:
This refers to an event or situation that triggers a response. It can be something external (e.g., a disagreement, a
setback) or internal (e.g., a thought or memory).
2. B – Belief:
This represents the belief or interpretation about the event. The belief can be rational or irrational. According to
Ellis, irrational beliefs often lead to unhealthy emotional responses, while rational beliefs foster healthier
emotions.
3. C – Consequence:
The emotional and behavioral outcome that results from the belief. Irrational beliefs often lead to negative
consequences (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger), while rational beliefs lead to more positive or adaptive
responses.

Example:

● A (Activating event): You fail an important exam.

● B (Belief): "I am worthless because I failed, and I will never succeed." (irrational belief) OR "I didn't do well
this time, but I can improve with more preparation." (rational belief)
● C (Consequence): Feeling depressed and giving up on future efforts (irrational belief) OR feeling motivated to
work harder for the next opportunity (rational belief).