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CBT · Cognitive

Fact vs. Interpretation

Pull what happened apart from what it meant

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The mind blends what happened with what it meant. This worksheet pulls them apart. Once the facts and the story are in separate columns, you can decide which one you're actually responding to.

The situation

Facts

What a security camera would have recorded. No adjectives, no motives.

Interpretations

What you made it mean — about them, about you, about the future.

Three alternative interpretations

Same facts, different stories. Stretch — even ones you don't believe.

1
2
3

If the most generous one were true…

How would you feel? What would you do next?

References & further reading

Conceptual background and further reading, not validation of this handout. Named instruments and methods belong to their original authors; custom prompts and trackers are not validated versions of those instruments.

  • Beck, J. S. (2020). Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
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