5 useful records in the day-to-day clinical practice in psychology

Records in psychology were highly popularized by psychologist Albert Ellis, who developed Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (RETT).

The use of records is one of the most widely used techniques for collecting relevant information in psychotherapy, after the use of psychometric scales and interview. However, the recording of psychological events by patients also has a powerful effect of change, for example, facilitating awareness of the thoughts, sensations and / or details of the conduct.

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Various records for the work of the psychologist in clinic

The choice of the registry is marked by several components. Among others, the psychologist must take into account the objective of said registry, as well as its level of self-knowledge. Before patient use of records it is important that he understands the purpose of answering them and know well how you have to answer them.

Traditionally these records have been provided to the patient through different templates. But you do not always have the papers on top or some means to write them. Although an alternative solution is to write them down when you get home or a comfortable space, this is not ideal.

The most relevant information is given in the objective situation, it is when the record should be completed. For example, in relation to a phobia, the perception of risk would be very different at the time of contact with the phobic stimulus than after half an hour. Thanks to the advancement of new technologies, we currently have great solutions designed for such objectives.

One of the best solutions is PsicoReg, which apart from offering a complete management platform, puts patients have an APP where they are reminded of appointments and can access psychoeducational content, among others. What's more, This platform has the possibility for patients to respond to all types of records via mobile. The psychologist will be able to decide when to see the answers given by his patients, and it is highly accessible. Let's see what these records are used in the field of clinical and health psychology, and what they are for.

1. ABC Record (Event, Thought and Behavior)

The ABC Registry is the most used in psychotherapy. This way of collecting information comes from the ABC model of Albert ellis. A refers to the Event, B to the thoughts / beliefs (Beliefs), C to the Consequences.

An event will provoke a specific thought with a specific consequence. Thus, the patient can become aware of the effect of his thoughts, and that the discomfort is usually caused by the thoughts and not so much by the event.

Once the patient is used to this registry, the ABC model is usually extended by adding DE. where D refers to Debate (or cognitive restructuring / thought change) and E refers to the effect of said thought change. A) Yes, the patient is often asked what alternative thought occurs to him and what is the effect of thinking differently.

2. Registration for exhibitions

The intervention of a large number of pathologies goes through exposure to different types of situations, hence this registry is one of the great pillars. This record usually begins by briefly describing the situation to which you are exposedIt is also usually important to note the duration of the exposure, as well as the discomfort that it has produced and whether or not it has been accompanied.

3. Task log: relaxation

One of the skills that is usually required to enhance is the ability to relax. For it The patient is usually asked as a task the regular practice of relaxation or Mindfulness. At the beginning, it can be highly useful to record each time the relaxation is performed, in order to promote awareness of the effect of the practice and increase adherence to the technique. It is convenient to accommodate the questions to the objective.

For example, if the patient controls more than one technique, it would be of interest to know which technique she has applied.

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4. Registration of frequency and intensity of emotions

Know which emotions are the most frequent and intense in a person it can be highly relevant information. But in addition, this type of registration is also an exceptional exercise to get to know oneself better and pay more attention to our emotional world. Just write the name of the emotion, its frequency and intensity.

5. Obsession and response log

Obsessions are relatively frequent not only in people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (TOC), hence it can be useful to use registers for obsessions. The data of interest will be mainly:

• The situation in which the obsession arises.
• The obsession itself (what goes through the mind).
• The behavior carried out after the obsession.
• The consequence of the performance of said conduct.