Trauma · CPT

Stuck Point Log

A running list of the beliefs that keep you stuck

therapistassist.app

A stuck point is a short, concrete statement — a belief that keeps you stuck. Usually it's about why the trauma happened, what it means about you, or what you now think you must do to stay safe. Add to this log as new ones come up across treatment.

Examples

· "It was my fault."

· "I should have known."

· "I can't trust anyone."

· "If I let my guard down, something bad will happen."

· "I'll never be normal again."

My stuck points

Short, in your own words. One per line.

Bring this log to every session. You'll work through individual stuck points with the Challenging Questions and Challenging Beliefs worksheets.

About this worksheet

Stuck points are the conditional and absolute beliefs that keep PTSD intact — 'if I had been more careful, it wouldn't have happened,' 'I can never trust my judgment,' 'no man is safe.' In CPT they're the targets of every cognitive worksheet from session 4 onward, so getting them on paper as a running list is one of the highest-leverage moves in the protocol. This log gives you and the client a single growing inventory: assimilated beliefs (about the trauma itself — usually self-blame, hindsight bias, or undoing) sit on one side; over-accommodated beliefs (sweeping rules about self, others, and the world that overgeneralize from the event) sit on the other. Clinicians often introduce the log alongside the Impact Statement and add to it through every subsequent session. By session 8, the same three or four stuck points usually account for most of the client's residual distress, which makes the late-protocol challenging work much more focused.

When to use it

Started at session 2 alongside review of the Impact Statement, added to every subsequent session.
As shared between-session homework — both clinician and client can add candidates.
When a single repeating thought keeps surfacing across different ABC worksheets — that's a stuck point.
In supervision, to help the clinician spot which beliefs are most worth targeting.

How to use it

1
Mine the Impact Statement
Read it slowly and underline absolute or conditional belief statements. These are your first candidates.
2
Sort assimilated vs over-accommodated
Assimilated = beliefs about the trauma (self-blame, hindsight). Over-accommodated = sweeping rules generalized to all of life. Different worksheets target each.
3
Add as ABCs surface them
Whenever the same belief shows up in two or three ABCs, promote it to the stuck point log.
4
Pick targets for challenging work
From session 5 onward, choose 2–3 stuck points per week to run through Challenging Questions, then Patterns of Problematic Thinking, then the Challenging Beliefs Worksheet.
5
Re-rate belief strength at the end
At session 12, ask the client to re-rate each stuck point 0–100. Movement is the outcome that matters most.

Frequently asked questions

What is a stuck point in CPT?+

A concise belief statement that keeps the client stuck in PTSD symptoms. They're conditional ('if I'd done X, Y wouldn't have happened') or absolute ('no one can be trusted') and they're the explicit targets of CPT's cognitive worksheets.

What's the difference between assimilated and over-accommodated beliefs?+

Assimilated beliefs distort the trauma to preserve prior worldviews — usually self-blame, hindsight bias, or undoing ('I should have known'). Over-accommodated beliefs overgeneralize from the trauma to all of life ('the world is dangerous,' 'I can't trust my judgment'). CPT addresses assimilated stuck points first, then over-accommodated ones.

How many stuck points does a typical client have?+

Usually 8–15 surface across the protocol, but 3–5 dominate. The log helps you see which beliefs cluster and which are doing most of the work.

Can stuck points include emotions or behaviors?+

No — keep the log to beliefs (sentences that can be true or false). Emotions and avoidance behaviors are consequences, not stuck points. That distinction is core to CPT.

Related worksheets

Challenging Questions Worksheet

Open worksheet

Worksheet — Stuck Point Log — provided by TherapistAssist for clinical use. Not a substitute for assessment or treatment.