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Cognitive restructuring
'Cognition' is a word used to denote a thought or belief, and 'restructuring' involves challenging a cognition by looking at the evidence for or against it. The basic idea behind cognitive restructuring is that thoughts themselves are not facts; you need to consider whether the thoughts you are having are true and to consider whether there are any other ways to thinking about a particular situation. At first this can be a real challenge: we often believe what we think and don't question our own thoughts. However, often our thinking is biased, and with perfectionism it can be biased towards thinking too negatively and harshly about yourself.
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So, why bother?First, tackling perfectionism is nothing new. Prior to this program being developed, there have been multiple studies which investigated whether targeting perfectionism can improve mental wellbeing. If you are interested in finding out more about these studies, you can follow these links which summarise the scientific evidence. Study 1: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349409673_Perfectionism_interventions_targeting_disordered_eating_A_systematic_review_and_meta-analysis Study 2: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005796719301159 Study 3: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334299089_Internet-based_cognitive_behaviour_therapy_for_perfectionism_More_is_better_but_no_need_to_be_prescriptive
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Do I really need to do the full program to get the benefits?Some of the researchers behind this program conducted earlier studies which looked at whether completing more sessions of self-guided therapy for perfectionism had an impact on how successful the treatment was. The results? Unsurprisingly the more modules completed, the bigger the reduction in perfectionism scores reported. Not only that, but completing more modules was linked with improvements in mood and body image flexibility whereas completing fewer modules didn’t see these additional improvements. So, the bottom line is: if you want to see results, then you should ideally aim to complete most, if not all, of the eight modules.
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Who can I contact if I have further questions?Unfortunately, this website is currently unmonitored. We are working to fix this so please check back for an updated contact email soon. Please note we are not a 24 hour service and in the event of a crisis call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or emergency services on 000 (if in Australia).
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