A plain-language explainer on the levels of thinking in CBT: automatic thoughts, underlying assumptions, and the deep core beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world.
Understanding Core Beliefs
PreviewCore beliefs are the deepest ideas we hold about ourselves, other people, and the world. They sound like I am... (for example, not good enough), others are... (for example, judging me), or the world is... (for example, unsafe). We usually do not question them - they just feel like simple truths about how things are.
We are not born with core beliefs. We learn them, often early in life, from our experiences and the messages we picked up from family, school, and the people around us. A belief that made sense of things back then can stay with us for years, long after the situation that created it has passed.
A core belief works a bit like a pair of tinted glasses you forgot you were wearing. It quietly colours how you read every situation. If your belief is I am not good enough, a neutral comment can look like criticism and a small slip can feel like proof. The glasses do not change the facts, but they change how the facts look to you.
On top of a core belief we build assumptions and rules to get by - often in the form if... then.... For example, If I let people see the real me, then they will reject me, so the rule becomes always keep people at arm's length. These rules feel protective, but they are built on the belief underneath and tend to keep it in place.
It helps to tell three levels apart. Automatic thoughts are the quick thoughts that pop up in a particular moment (she did not text back - she must be annoyed with me). Assumptions are the if-then rules we live by. Core beliefs are the bottom line underneath it all. Automatic thoughts come and go many times a day; core beliefs sit quietly in the background and shape them.
An automatic thought of your own (a quick thought in a particular moment)
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An assumption or rule you live by (an if-then rule)
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A core belief underneath (the bottom line: I am... / others are... / the world is...)
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Core beliefs are sticky because they act like a filter. We tend to notice and remember anything that fits the belief, and we explain away or overlook anything that does not. So an I am not good enough belief soaks up every mistake as proof, while genuine successes get dismissed as luck or do not count. Over time this makes a learned idea feel like a solid fact - even though it is not.
If you have a sense of one of your core beliefs, write it here - and notice that it is a belief you learned, not a fact about you
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‘Understanding Core Beliefs’ is an interactive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) worksheet, most often used in CBT for low self-esteem.
It is designed to be used within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it, works through it collaboratively, and helps make sense of what it surfaces. You can preview the full worksheet above, then assign it digitally for clients to complete between sessions on any device — or download it as a print-ready PDF.
Most people work through it in around 12 minutes. It moves through six short steps:
Completed on the Formulate platform, your client's answers are saved automatically and shared straight back to you, so you can review them before the next session rather than waiting for a paper copy to come back.
In common with other CBT methods, ‘Understanding Core Beliefs’ works by noticing the links between situations, thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviour — and finding practical ways to change unhelpful patterns. The aim is not positive thinking but a clearer, shared understanding of what keeps a difficulty going — and practical, testable ways to change it.
Because it is a CBT tool it stays focused on the here-and-now links between thoughts, feelings, the body and behaviour, and it works best as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis.
This worksheet is grounded in established cognitive behavioural therapy theory and practice. Key sources include:
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
Sign up free and send your client a link. They complete it on any device — you review their responses before the next session.
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