- Think of an example of a situation that does not relate to sexual offending behaviour, e.g. going to the office party or attending a job interview.
- Identify some negative thoughts about the situation, e.g. ‘ I won’t know anyone there’ and ‘What’s the point? I am not going to get the job anyway’.
- Then identify the types of feelings that are associated with these thoughts and how they will affect the way you behave in these situations. For example feeling anxious and therefore not talking to people at the party or feeling sad and coming across as unenthusiastic about the job.
- Using the same example, apply positive thoughts and observe the differences in your feelings and behaviour. For example thinking ‘I love parties and meeting new people’, feeling excited and approaching people to talk to them or thinking ‘I would be great at this job’, feeling confident and talking enthusiastically about why you’d be good at the job.
You need to change the problematic thoughts and feelings which influence your behaviour.
