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Life themes and plans Implications of

biased Beliefs: Elicitation and Treatment

(LIBET)

Sassaroli, S., Caselli, G., Bassanini, A., RedaelliC., & Ruggiero, G.M.

Studi Cognitivi, Post-graduate cognitivepsychotherapy specialization school, Milano,Italy

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Life themes and plans Implications of biased

Beliefs: Elicitation and Treatment

(LIBET, Ruggiero & Sassaroli, 2013)

We propose an integrated model of case

conceptualization of emotional disorders

called Life themes and plans Implications of

biased Beliefs: Elicitation and Treatment

(LIBET, Ruggiero & Sassaroli, 2013)

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Life themes and plans Implications of biased Beliefs: Elicitation

and Treatment

(LIBET, Ruggiero & Sassaroli, 2013)

The LIBET model aims to merge:

the Italian constructivist attention to emotions

and clients personal development

the rational and directive style of Ellis REBT

(Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy)

the procedural rigor of empirical research, in

order to produce a testable model

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Life themes and plans Implications of biased

Beliefs: Elicitation and Treatment

(LIBET, Ruggiero & Sassaroli, 2013)

In the LIBET framework, the emotional

disorder is conceptualized as depending on

two factors:

Painful life themes

Rigid and unflexible plans

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LIBET: Painful life themes

Painful life themes are attentional

focalizations on negative mental states related

to appraisals of events and of relational

patterns learnt in significant experiences and

relationships evaluated as intolerably painful

and grievous (Wells, 2008; Panksepp, 1998)

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LIBET: Rigid and unflexible plans

Rigid and unflexible plans are avoidant,

controlling and/or over-compensative

strategies even at cost to renounce to

significant areas of emotive, cognitive and

behavioural growth and personal and

relational satisfaction (Williams & Garland,

2002).

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Rigid plans: from semi-functionality to

dysfunctionality

These strategies can be partially functional in

given periods of life, but can also hinder

personal development and may lead to a

psychopathological onset depending on a final

failure of the rigid plan in which the emotional

cost of the renounces becomes too high

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The themes

We use the metaphor of the "nest" in order to

express vividly the relational patterns learnt in

significant experiences and relationships

evaluated as intolerably painful and grievous

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4 themes: the destroyed nest

Theme of the destroyed nest, in which the

individual has experienced a threat to the

basic need to be fed and cared for; the threat

to this need can lead to panic and paralyzing

fear, the so-called freezing (Ogden et al., 2006;

Solomon, 2011).

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4 themes: the secure nest in a

unsecure environment

The theme of the secure nest in a unsecure

environment in which the individual

experienced a warm and welcoming

environment, but also conceived the idea that

the external environment is dangerous and

that it is not convenient to venture into the

world. The exploratory system is compromised(Bolwby, 1968).

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4 themes: the cold nest

Theme of the cold nest, in which the base is

safe and the need for exploration is not

opposed, but care is provided in an

atmosphere of emotional deprivation and

emotional distance, where body contacts are

rare (Bowlby, 1968).

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4 themes: the punitive and criticizing

nest

The punitive and criticizing nest, where the

safe base is present, the need for exploration

is not opposed, but there is also a severely

criticizing relational style, controlling and

oppressive in where the values are lived

regulatory and transmitted in a manner

oppressive guilt and punishment

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3 plans: the prudential plan

The prudential plan, in which the subject tries

not to think about his painful topic avoiding it

through mental and behavioral strategies that

prevent him from having to deal with thecircumstances and / or thoughts that may be

connected in some way with the painful topic.

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3 plans: the striving plan

The striving plan, in which the subject believes

that the issue can be excluded through strict

and efficient strategies hypercontrol that

prevent the possibility of the most traumaticaspects of the theme painful to come true or

at least present themselves at the center of

the individual.

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3 plans: the self-himmunizing plan

The self-himmunizing plan, in which the subjectmanages the painful issues and tryingexperiences intense emotional states and

overwhelming that ipercompensino contrast topositive states of depression, anxiety andrimuginativi typical of painful issues, almosttrying to expel the attentional space. The person

seeking an alternative to the extreme negativestates associated with painful issues, but in doingso also confirms the inability to handle

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Assessing LIBET

We developed a procedure for assessing LIBET

and a booklet that helps the implementation

of the procedure

The procedure allowed the collection of

quantitative data in order to test the validity

of LIBET to discriminate clients and controls

and to assess pathological variables

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Validation procedures

We administered the LIBET booklet to 10

clients and 9 control

We measured the prevalence of each theme

and plan

We compared the intensity of themes and

plans in clients and controls

We assessed in each individual one theme and

two plans (primary and secondary plan)

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57.90%

42.10%

Sample

Male

Female 84.20%

15.80%

Marital Status

Single

Married

5.30%36.80%

52.60%

Scholastic Education

Medie

Superiori

Laurea (BA or MA)

36.80%

5.30%15.80%

36.80%

5.30%

Primary Problem

Anxiety

Depression

Relationship

Existential

Impulsivenes

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0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%36.80%

47.40%

15.80%

Primary Strategy

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

15.80%

21.10%

26.30%

Secondary Strategy

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Destroyed

Nest

Secure Nest

in Unsecure

Environment

Cold Nest Punitive and

Criticizing

Nest

0%

26.30%

63.20%

10.50%

Life Theme

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

30.5

62.4

55.5

80.33

18.6

57.8

98.2

15.2 13.7 15.3

22.6

28.933.33

39.44

2.67

41.78

68.78

11.5610.67

18.22

Clinical

Control

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2.66

2.51

2.41

2.29

2.21

1.98

1.89

1.17

0.26

-0.15

-0.34

-0.91

-1.02

-1.35

-4.00 -3.00 -2.00 -1.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00

t value

change

alternative

Willing to do

Avoid suffering

automatic

goals

Faith in change

Libero altre cose

Worry about

Damage with life choice

Damage with personal goals

Damage with Others

Low Control

Ought to do

Fatigue

Linear (change)

Linear (change)

Linear (change)

Higher inControl Higher inClinical

PLANS ITEM SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN CLINICAL AND CONTROL SAMPLE

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Preliminary results

The intensity of painful themes is higher in clientsthan in controls

The cold nest seems the more frequent in thetotal sample

The more frequent primary plan is the prudentialplan in the total sample

The more frequent secondary plan is theself-immunizing plan in the total sample

We are selecting the more efficient items inshowing differences between clients and controls