Understanding Core Beliefs
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.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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Understanding Core Beliefs
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What Are Core Beliefs?
Core 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.
Where They Come From
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.
Like Coloured Glasses
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.
The Assumptions and Rules We Build on Top
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.
Three Levels of Thinking
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.
How Core Beliefs Keep Themselves Going
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.
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When to use ‘Understanding Core Beliefs’
‘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.
How it works
Most people work through it in around 12 minutes. It moves through six short steps:
- What Are Core Beliefs? — Core beliefs are the deepest ideas we hold about ourselves, other people, and the world. They sound like I am... (for example, not good…
- Where They Come From — 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,…
- Like Coloured Glasses — 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…
- The Assumptions and Rules We Build on Top — 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…
- Three Levels of Thinking — 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 -…
- How Core Beliefs Keep Themselves Going — 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…
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.
The CBT approach behind it
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.
Evidence & sources
This worksheet is grounded in established cognitive behavioural therapy theory and practice. Key sources include:
- Beck, A.T. (1976). Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. New York: International Universities Press.
- Beck, J.S. (2011). Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
- Fennell, M.J.V. (1997). Low self-esteem: A cognitive perspective. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 25(1), 1-26. doi:10.1017/S1352465800015368
For use alongside professional support
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:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- SANEline: 0800 689 5555 — 4:30pm–10:30pm, every day
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