> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Distortion check > Eleven common thinking patterns in a checkbox grid — a pattern-recognition aid for CBT clients. The distortion check is a psychoeducation tool. The client notices a thought, opens this worksheet, and runs the thought through a grid of eleven common patterns to see which ones fit. The clinical work is the recognition itself — *"oh, that's me doing the mind-reading thing again"* — which over time builds the metacognitive skill of catching distortions in the moment. Burns published the original list in *Feeling Good* in 1980. The labels have become standard CBT vocabulary; Rivet uses eleven of them in plain language. ## What's in the grid A 2-column grid (single column on phones) of eleven boolean items, with a free-text "What you noticed" at the bottom. | Distortion | Plain-language definition | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | All-or-nothing | only two settings, no middle ground | | Overgeneralizing | one event becomes a forever pattern | | Mental filter | only the negatives register | | Brushing off the good | when something good happens you decide it doesn't count | | Mind reading | you're sure you know what someone else is thinking | | Fortune telling | you predict it will go badly with no real evidence | | Magnifying | small problems feel like worst-case outcomes | | Feels-true reasoning | "I feel this strongly, so it must be true" | | Should statements | "I should", "I must", "I have to" | | Labeling | turning one behavior into a whole-self verdict | | Self-blame | taking on responsibility that isn't fully yours | The client can check as many as fit. There's no scoring — the distortions checked are the clinical signal. ## How the list was scoped Burns' original ten distortions plus the variants that have entered modern CBT vocabulary, narrowed to eleven that don't overlap. A few decisions: * **Mind reading and fortune telling** are split into separate items, matching modern CBT usage. The original Burns list combined them under "jumping to conclusions." * **Magnification and minimization** are combined per Burns' "binocular trick" — they're the same distortion seen from two sides. * **Labeling and mislabeling** are combined into one item. * **Personalization and blame** are combined into "Self-blame." * **Always being right** and **fallacy of fairness** are not included — they're popular-press additions, not in Burns 1980 and not validated in the CBT literature. ## When to use it In-session, as a quick assessment during thought-record work — *"which of these does that thought sound like?"* The grid surfaces the pattern faster than asking the client to recall a list from memory. Between sessions, as a recognition aid. Clients new to CBT often need the list visible to make the connection between a thought and a distortion. After 4-6 sessions of practice, most clients can name the distortion without the worksheet. It pairs naturally with the [thought record](/clinical-templates/cbt/thought-record). The distortion check identifies the pattern; the thought record does the restructuring work. ## In-session mechanics Open **Distortion check** from the top-right corner (**Clinical templates ▾**). The eleven items show as a 2-column tappable grid. The client (or you, on the client's behalf) checks the ones that fit, writes a sentence in the "What you noticed" box, and you save. The grid is short enough that the whole worksheet fits on one screen on a laptop — no scrolling — which keeps the conversation flowing. ## Using it in a Canadian practice **Your client's answers stay in Canada.** A completed Distortion check is health information about a named person. The answers are stored encrypted in a Montreal data centre and land in that client's chart against the session they belong to. Nothing goes to an outside service to be scored. **Getting it into your file of record.** The scored result copies out formatted for a progress note, so it pastes into Jane, Owl or whatever holds the record. You're not retyping a total, and the interpretation travels with it. **English only.** The version here is English. If you practise in French, you'll be working from your own copy for that client. ## Citation Burns, D. D. (1980). *Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy.* William Morrow. Burns, D. D. (1989). *The Feeling Good Handbook.* William Morrow. The distortion labels are short descriptive titles, which are not copyrightable. Rivet's definitions are original — written by paraphrasing the underlying clinical phenomenon, not lifted from Burns' canonical definitions or any proprietary worksheet. ## When not to use it * **First sessions before the cognitive model is introduced.** The list presupposes the client understands that thoughts can be distorted patterns, not direct readouts of reality. Without psychoeducation, the worksheet can read as accusatory. * **Acute distress in the moment.** The pattern-recognition work is cognitive; do a grounding piece first if the client is too flooded to engage. * **Clients who get stuck in "every thought is a distortion."** A few clients over-apply the framework and start invalidating accurate perceptions. Re-introduce the idea that distortions are patterns, not a verdict that every thought is wrong. ## Related articles The cognitive restructuring worksheet this one feeds into. When a distortion has a testable real-world prediction.