Therapeutic Support Group for Men: “Toxic Thoughts — How to Work with Negative Beliefs”
On July 20, as part of the psychological program, a milestone therapeutic support group took place. For six months now, the NGO “ECONET” has been running support groups for men. Today’s group was dedicated to exploring core beliefs, negative automatic thoughts, and cognitive distortions.
During the session, participants had the opportunity to examine internal beliefs that often subtly influence our decisions, emotions, and reactions. In a warm and safe environment, they worked on identifying irrational beliefs, learned to track destructive thoughts, and explored new, more adaptive ways of thinking.
The group was highly practical — filled with exercises, reflective questions, and dialogues. Participants engaged in tasks designed to uncover unconscious benefits of negative thinking, recognize personal cognitive distortions, and initiate internal transformation.
The program included both theoretical content and hands-on exercises, such as:
- working with core beliefs;
- identifying the hidden benefits of destructive thoughts;
- learning about common cognitive distortions;
- analyzing irrational beliefs;
- and a group storytelling exercise that helped build a warm connection among participants.
The participants highlighted the supportive, sincere atmosphere and deep self-reflection. At the end of the meeting, everyone had the chance to share their experiences and impressions, and to outline new directions for personal growth.
