Cognitive behavioural therapy and self-reinforcing feedback
Counsellors can use cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions grounded in systems theory and its self-reinforcing feedback loops. Here, I discuss one such counselling intervention and how you could see it as a cognitive-behavioural intervention.
The cyclic intervention with client Zed
During a counselling session with my client Zed, I identified a vicious cycle that was a revelation to him. (Zed is a fictional client.)
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| You gamble more to feel respected – that’s when you are winning. | Damage: You lose more money & respect | |
 | You need more respect. |  |
During the session, we built a diagram of key parts of his story. The vicious cycle emerged from this diagram, and I summed it up, saying to him, “There is a cycle here: (1) the more you gamble to feel respected, while on winning streaks, (2) the more money you lose and the less respect you get at home and at work, so (3) the more you need respect, and (4) this throws you back to gamble more. This vicious cycle is making your life very difficult.”
The method for generating and using the cyclic intervention is critical: the page describing the example counselling session details this.
Identify and challenge unhelpful thinking.
Cognitive behavioural therapy can assist clients by helping them identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts.
The counselling session helped challenge some of Zed’s unhelpful thoughts. He passionately believed that gambling brought him respect, to the extent that he had this embossed on his belt. This was an unhelpful thought because it eclipsed the reality that his gambling undermined other people’s respect for him. The cyclic intervention effectively challenged this unhelpful thinking.
Clients see themselves in a more positive light.
CBT can also help clients by encouraging them to view themselves more positively and in a more balanced way.
The cyclic intervention enabled him to see himself in a more positive light, as trapped in a cycle of behaviour rather than as crazy.
Counsellors could use cyclic interventions like this, seeing them as cognitive interventions to:
- identify and challenge unhelpful thinking,
- help clients to see themselves more positively.
The introduction to my counselling pages includes:
- Links to the other counselling pages, including those describing how this approach relates to other counselling practices and theories, see the top of the introduction page
- References for all the counselling pages, at the end of the introduction page.
First Loaded: 19 Dec 2025: Updated: 22 Dec 2025