Core Beliefs
Reviewed By
Dr Harriet Mellotte - Clinical Psychologist, CBT & EMDR Therapist, NHS and Private Practice
Core beliefs are the deeply held ideas about yourself, others, and the world that shape how you see everything.
References
Beck, A. T. (1963). Thinking and depression: I. Idiosyncratic content and cognitive distortions. Archives of General Psychiatry, 9(4), 324–333. This is the foundational paper introducing how core beliefs (schemas) influence perception, interpretation, and mood. Young, J. E. (1999). Cognitive therapy for personality disorders: A schema-focused approach (3rd ed.). Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press. Young expanded on Beck’s model to describe early maladaptive schemas — essentially rigid core beliefs formed in childhood. Fennell, M. J. V. (1997). Low self-esteem: A cognitive perspective. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 25(1), 1–26. This paper explicitly explores core beliefs, how they form, how they maintain low self-esteem and depression, and how CBT techniques help modify them.