This document provides an overview of cognitive behavioral therapy techniques for manipulating one's own mind in a healthy way. It discusses how the brain works as a system with both automatic and deliberate responses. It introduces CBT as a way to break negative thought patterns by noticing inputs, processing emotions and thoughts adaptively, and choosing helpful responses. It also discusses how to create psychological safety in groups by decreasing riskiness, validating ideas, and encouraging open conversation.

1. A Neurobiologist’s Guide
To Mind Manipulation
Casey Watts!
@kyloma caseywatts.com

2. “Intra-LA infusions of garcinol impair
training-related acetylation of histone
H3 and fear memory consolidation.”My Papers
Casey’s Research

3. Overview
A. Cognitive Restructuring
B. Psychological Safety

4. Part A
Cognitive Restructuring

5. 1. Inner vs Outer Brain
2. Brain as a System
3. Downward Spiral
4. CBT background
5. How to CBT

6. LeDoux’s
Dual Pathway
Inner vs Outer Brain

8. Feelings
Limbic System
“inner brain”
“low road”
FAST ~ms
Thoughts
Cortex
“outer brain”
“high road”
SLOW ~s

9. 1. Inner vs Outer Brain
2. Brain as a System
3. Downward Spiral
4. CBT background
5. How to CBT

10. An Engineer’s System

11. automatic response
“mindful”
deliberate response

12. Inputs
- stimuli from the environment
- things that happen
- people’s words/actions
- spontaneous thoughts
- spontaneous emotions
- current bodily state

13. Hangry

14. 1. Inner vs Outer Brain
2. Brain as a System
3. Downward Spiral
4. CBT background
5. How to CBT

15. Negative
Thoughts
Negative
Feelings

17. How do we fix this?
(hint: it is CBT)

18. 1. Inner vs Outer Brain
2. Brain as a System
3. Downward Spiral
4. CBT background
5. How to CBT

19. Depression
Anxiety
Bipolar disorder
Eating disorders
Schizophrenia
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Mental Illnesses

20. CBT is as effective as antidepressant drugs
for treating depression
(although both in conjunction is even better)

21. Everyone benefits from
understanding thoughts &
emotions better

22. Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy
Training

23. 1. Inner vs Outer Brain
2. Brain as a System
3. Downward Spiral
4. CBT background
5. How to CBT

24. npm install constant-introspection
debugging tool

25. automatic input
automatic feelings
automatic thoughts
automatic response
Automatic

26. automatic input
automatic feelings
automatic thoughts
automatic response
deliberate input
deliberate feelings
deliberate thoughts
deliberate response
Automatic Deliberate

27. 1. Notice input
2. Process emotions & thoughts
3. Choose response

28. 1. Notice Input

29. Whoop!

30. congratulate yourself when
you notice

31. 2a. Process Emotions

32. Expand emotional vocabulary

33. Processing Techniques
- write them out
- talk about them

34. View emotions as data
non-judgmentally

35. 2b. Process Thoughts

36. Maladaptive
Cognitions
or
Unhelpful
Thoughts
link at: caseywatts.com/mindmanipulation

37. Hangry, wet, raining, late
Stepped in a puddle

38. Hangry, wet, raining, late
Stepped in a puddle
“Wet shoes are
THE WORST”

39. Hangry, wet, raining, late
Stepped in a puddle
“Wet shoes are
THE WORST”

40. Hangry, wet, raining, late
Stepped in a puddle
“If I’m late, I should
just not go.”

41. Hangry, wet, raining, late
Stepped in a puddle
“If I’m late, I should
just not go.”

42. Hangry, wet, raining, late
Stepped in a puddle
“Today sucks.”

43. Hangry, wet, raining, late
Stepped in a puddle
“Today sucks.”

44. More Adaptive Thoughts
“I am feeling
frustrated”
“This
hangriness
will go away
when I eat”
“I’ll feel great
after I dry off”

45. Maladaptive
Cognitions
or
Unhelpful
Thoughts
link at: caseywatts.com/mindmanipulation
Print
This

46. 1. Notice input
2. Process emotions & thoughts
3. Choose response

47. Other Tools
Joyable (webapp)
Therapist
CBT Book
links at: caseywatts.com/mindmanipulation

48. Questions?
In particular about:
Emotion in the Brain
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

49. Part B
Psychological Safety

50. PsycSafe Group
vs
“Safe Space”

51. PsycSafety
shared belief held by members of a team that
the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking
- Amy Edmondson

52. What makes some teams
perform better as teams?
(Google)

53. Failed
Correlations
personality types
skills
backgrounds
management style
Successful
Correlations
“group norms”
->
“PsycSafe” team attributes

54. PsycSafe Traits
1. conversational turn-taking
2. average social sensitivity (~= empathy)

55. PsycSafe
higher collective IQ
non-PsycSafe
lower collective IQ

56. Improving PsycSafety

57. Decrease Riskiness
Propinquity
Vulnerability
Validation
Depersonalize Ideas
Task vs Relationship (PEARLS)
Conversational
Turn-Taking
Earned Dogmatism Effect
Frame as learning
Acknowledge fallibility
Ask many questions
Declare unknowns

58. Decrease Riskiness
Propinquity
Vulnerability
Validation
Depersonalize Ideas
Task vs Relationship (PEARLS)
Conversational
Turn-Taking
Earned Dogmatism Effect
Frame as learning
Acknowledge fallibility
Ask many questions
Declare unknowns

59. Earned Dogmatism
Effect
“I am experienced therefore I am right”
link at: caseywatts.com/mindmanipulation

60. Framing
this is a “learning opportunity”
not an “execution problem”

61. Acknowledge Own
Fallibility
“I may miss something — I need to hear from you.”

62. Model Curiosity
ask many questions

63. Declare Unknowns
“We’ll probably come across some issues around X”

64. Earned Dogmatism Effect
Frame as learning
Acknowledge fallibility
Ask many questions
Declare unknowns

65. Decrease Riskiness
Propinquity
Vulnerability
Validation
Depersonalize Ideas
Task vs Relationship (PEARLS)
Conversational
Turn-Taking
Earned Dogmatism Effect
Frame as learning
Acknowledge fallibility
Ask many questions
Declare unknowns

66. Decrease Riskiness
Propinquity
Vulnerability
Validation
Depersonalize Ideas
Task vs Relationship (PEARLS)
Conversational
Turn-Taking
Earned Dogmatism Effect
Frame as learning
Acknowledge fallibility
Ask many questions
Declare unknowns

67. Propinquity
social closeness

68. Vulnerability
increases trust

69. Validation
recognition and acceptance of another person's thoughts,
feelings, sensations, and behaviors as understandable
(whether or not you agree)

70. 1. Be Present
2. Accurate Reflection
3. Mind Reading
4. Context: their background
5. “anyone would”
6. Radical Genuineness
Validation Levels
link at: caseywatts.com/mindmanipulation

71. Depersonalize Ideas
Not “Casey’s Idea” but “Idea A”

72. Task Channel vs
Relationship Channel
PEARLS

73. PEARLS
link at: caseywatts.com/mindmanipulation

74. Decrease Riskiness
Propinquity
Vulnerability
Validation
Depersonalize Ideas
Task vs Relationship (PEARLS)
Conversational
Turn-Taking
Earned Dogmatism Effect
Frame as learning
Acknowledge fallibility
Ask many questions
Declare unknowns

75. Questions?

76. Yay!
fin

77. Bonus Content

78. Why doesn’t everyone already do CBT?
Because:
- it is a skill people don’t often study
- it takes time
- it takes energy
- it’s uncomfortable at first
but you can power through :)

79. Haidt’s
Elephant Model

81. Post-hoc
Rationalization

82. Haidt’s
“Moral Foundations Theory”

86. Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and freedom.
- Viktor Frankl

87. Anxiety
a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease,
typically about an imminent event or something
with an uncertain outcome.

88. Rumination
compulsively focused attention on the symptoms
of one's distress, and on its possible causes and
consequences, as opposed to its solutions

89. More about Joyable
(app)

90. Social Sensitivity
“Reading the Mind in the Eyes”
link at: caseywatts.com/mindmanipulation