A Realistic Answer

THERAPIST: OK. “ ‘I’m so different from him.” What is the rational answer to that? A realistic answer?

DENISE: You are wearing a wedding ring and that is different from me, because I’m alone, without a mate.

THERAPIST: Yes. And?

DENISE: And? . . . I don’t really know much about you, other than you’re married. I guess from what I do know, that information could also be viewed as a similarity. We both have gotten married and know what it’s like to be married. I assume that you’ve never lost a mate, but maybe that is not true. You may have lost a mate as well.

THERAPIST: So, is it that you’re different or that I’m different? Or is it that we just have dif- ferent situations with respect to our mates at this point in time?

DENISE: We just have different situations right now.

The preceding exchange demonstrates the use of reattribution. At first, Denise interpreted the therapist’s ring as evidence that they were very different. As a result of the guided discov- ery approach, she reattributed the difference to one of two factors: Either she or the therapist was different or that the situation with respect to mates was different for each. At the end of the experiment, Denise expressed satisfaction that she was finally recognizing this tendency to distort her appraisals.

DENISE: Right now I feel glad. I’m feeling a lit- tle better that at least somebody is pointing these things out to me. I never realized I was so judgmental of myself and other people and that I’m assuming I’m so different from everyone.

THERAPIST: So you feel good that you have made this observation about yourself?

DENISE: Yes.

After summarizing the main points of the second session, the therapist assigned home- work for the coming week: to fill out the Daily Record of Dysfunctional Thoughts (see Figure 6.4) and the Weekly Activity Schedule