Cognitive Flexibility Training

At present, there are no known evidence-based interventions or best practices for changing these types of rigid thinking.  However, given the importance of this matter, we will share some approaches which can be drawn upon in the context of your overall clinical judgment.

Here are some ideas for how to improve cognitive flexibility that introduce some level of ambiguity or questioning into the person’s rigid thinking:

1. Address “black and white” thinking. For individuals who state, for example, “All people who are X are evil and bad”, the clinician can challenge this thinking with questions that chip away at the rigid belief. Questions such as, “Really, every single person in the world who is X is evil/bad?” “Have you met all the people who are X so you can be sure of your judgment?” “What if your family/friends had a good, close friend who was X, would they be wrong/bad/evil for being friends?” “Share with me some of your most recent interactions with people who are X and we can see what you think justifies your judgment.”    
2. Use paradoxical questions. These kinds of questions flip the direction of the judgment process back on the person you are working with. “So if you’re saying all people who are X are bad/evil, then someone who is X would be right to say that all people who are Y (some characteristic about the person you are working with) are evil/bad. Correct?” “Since you are Y, people who aren’t Y could say the same thing about you?” “Would they be correct? Do you know some people who are Y that aren’t evil/bad?”     
3. Question the origins of the rigid belief. These kinds of questions try to raise doubts about the validity of the belief based on its possible origins. “When did you first hear/learn that people who are X are evil/bad?” “What were they basing their belief on?” “Do you think they meant all people who are X, or just a person who is X who they had difficulties with?” “Have they met people who are X to know if their belief is justified?”

The main focus of such interventions is to gradually raise doubts in the person’s belief system and begin to identify gaps in their reasonings, inconsistencies, and opportunities to introduce questioning into their belief system. 

Another strategy for promoting cognitive flexibility is to recommend activities where the person changes their routines. Examples include:

• meeting new people
• becoming a volunteer
• making some major changes in how they approach something they do all the time