REBT

NTBQ

TRAVEL BELIEFS

PHOBIAS

The Negative Travel Beliefs Questionnaire (NTBQ): Assessment of phobia-related beliefs

Stephen Palmer PhD

Centre for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, and City University, Centre for Health and Counselling Psychology, London, England.

The Negative Travel Beliefs Questionnaire (NTBQ) which originally consisted of 24 irrational beliefs associated with holiday and travel has been revised to include additional beliefs related to phobias (Palmer, 1999).

INTRODUCTION

The Negative Travel Beliefs Questionnaire (NTBQ) originally focused largely on travel and holiday beliefs that were irrational, task and enjoyment interfering, and self-defeating (Palmer, 1999). The NTBQ aids relatively quick assessment of these beliefs. The NTBQ has also been included in REBT self-help literature (see Bor, Josse and Palmer, 2000).

The NTBQ has recently been revised after clinical use and includes an additional four questions that are relevant when assessing for flying and related phobias (see questions 25 to 28). The format is similar to the REBT Personality Data Form 2 (Ellis, 1968). In the self-help version below it includes an introduction and self-assessment section at the end which recommends the challenging of the unhelpful beliefs. Appendix 1 is attached which provides a list of questions that clients (and their therapists) can use to challenge irrational beliefs and includes examples of modified beliefs.

INTRODUCTION TO QUESTIONNAIRE

There are a number of negative travel beliefs that unfortunately help to increase our stress levels. Below is our Negative Travel Beliefs Questionnaire (NTBQ) which will help us to assess the beliefs you hold that exacerbate travel, holiday and flying related stress.

Do you recognise any of the following? Circle the strength of your belief, where 'S' represents strongly, 'M' represents moderately and 'W' represents weakly.

NEGATIVE TRAVEL BELIEFS QUESTIONNAIRE (Copyright,Palmer,2000)

1 S M W The journey should go smoothly

2 S M W The weather should be excellent

3 S M W The food must be good

4 S M W The accommodation should be of a very high standard

5 S M W New places must be exciting

6 S M W New people must be exciting

7 S M W The entertainment must be good

8 S M W I/we must enjoy ourselves

9 S M W I/we must not get bored

10 S M W I/we must not encounter problems

11 S M W I/we must have the solitude I/we deserve

12 S M W I/we must have the nightlife I/we deserve

13 S M W I/we must escape from responsibilities and demands

14 S M W I/we should be able to let our hair down

15 S M W I/we must be treated fairly

16 S M W I/we should be treated as special

18 S M W I must be in control of all situations

19 S M W We should get on well together as friends/family

20 S M W If things go badly then it would be 'awful'

21 S M W If things go badly then I could not stand it

22 S M W Things never go well on my trips and holidays

23 S M W I am indispensable at work. Therefore I should not have time off

24 S M W If things go wrong then those responsible are 'stupid', 'useless', 'idiots' or 'failures'.

25 S M W I can't stand being feeling enclosed

26 S M W I can't stand heights

27 S M W I can't stand the physical sensations of anxiety

28 S M W The plane is almost certainly going to crash

29 S M W Additional beliefs:..........................

SELF-ASSESSMENT

If you just hold onto one of these beliefs strongly then when an event occurs that does not live up its expectations then you are likely to suffer from stress and anxiety. The more beliefs you hold strongly or even moderately, the more stress you may encounter on a simple journey or holiday trip.

There are a number of negative beliefs on the NTBQ that tend to trigger high levels of anxiety and are also associated with phobias: 10;18;20;21;22;25;26;27;28. Include any additional beliefs you may have noted down for number 29 if they particularly trigger high anxiety.

Psychologists have found that if people can challenge and modify their unhelpful beliefs then their levels of stress and anxiety can be moderated or even eliminated. It helps to examine the validity of each idea and below are a number of questions that you can ask your self that may aid this process. You may have to 'mix and match' and select the appropriate question that helps you examine your beliefs (see Appendix 1).

DISCUSSION

The NTBQ (or revised version) is easy to administer either in group work or one-to-one therapy. The NTBQ can be completed by clients as an homework assignment or used as bibliotherapy. As noted previously, questionnaires are no substitute for a thorough assessment of a client's irrational beliefs but they can be a useful aid.

REFERENCES

Bor, R., Josse, J. and Palmer, S. (2000). Stress Free Flying. Dinton: Mark Allen Publishing.

Ellis, A. (1968). Personality Data Form. New York: Institute for RET.

Palmer, S. (1999). The Negative Travel Beliefs Questionnaire (NTBQ). The Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapist, 7, 1, 48-51.

Palmer, S. and Strickland, L. (1996). Stress Management: A Quick Guide. Dunstable: Folens.

APPENDIX 1

CHALLENGING UNHELPFUL BELIEFS

(adapted Palmer and Strickland, 1996)

Is my idea or belief logical?

Would a scientist agree with my logic?

Where is the evidence for my belief?

Where is the belief written (apart from inside my own head!)?

Is my belief realistic?

Would my friends and colleagues agree with my idea?

Does everybody share my attitude? If not, why not?

Am I expecting myself or others to be perfect as opposed to fallible human beings?

What makes the situation so awful, terrible or horrible?

Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

Will it seem this bad in one, three, six or twelve months time?

Will it be important in two years time?

Is it really as bad as a problem like a serious accident or a close bereavement?

Am I exaggerating the importance of this problem?

Am I fortune-telling again with little evidence that the worse case scenario will actually happen?

If I 'can't stand it' or 'can't bear it' what will really happen?

If I can't stand it, will I really fall apart!?

Am I concentrating on my (or others') weaknesses and neglecting my (or others') strengths?

Am I agonising about how things should be instead of dealing with them as they are?

Where is is this thought or attitude getting me?

Is my belief helping me to attain my goal(s)?

Is my belief goal-focused and problem-solving?

If a friend made a similar mistake would I be so critical?

Am I thinking in all-or-nothing terms? Is there any middle ground?

Am I labelling myself, somebody or something else? Is this logical and a fair thing to do?

Just because a problem has occurred does it mean that that

I/they/it is stupid, failure, useless or hopeless?

Am I placing demands (e.g. shoulds/musts etc.) on myself or others? If I am is this proving helpful and constructive?

Am I taking things too personally?

Am I blaming others unfairly just to make myself (temporarily) feel better ?

MODIFYING BELIEFS

Once you have examined your beliefs, then you can modify them and develop more helpful beliefs such as:

10 It is strongly preferable not to encounter problems, but if we do, it is not the end of the world.

18 Although it is preferable to be in control of all situations, it is not essential.

20 Things are seldom 'awful' or life horrors. Generally they are just a life hassle.

21 I'm living proof that when things have gone badly in the past I have survived. This is more evidence that I can stand things.

22 Although occasionally things may go wrong, seldom (if ever) does everything go wrong on my trips and holidays. This is just all or nothing thinking.

25 Although I don't like being enclosed I can stand it.

26 Unless I'm unlucky to fall, like most other people I can stand heights; I just don't like them! And that's just tough.

27 I've experienced the unpleasant physical sensations of anxiety before. Although I didn't like them, I did survive them. I'm sure I'll survive them again.

28 Let's get real! Very few planes actually crash. I would have to fly everyday for 26,000 years on a plane if I wanted to ensure that I was involved in a major incident. It's more dangerous crossing the road!!

Correspondence

Professor Stephen Palmer, Centre for Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, 156 Westcombe Hill, London, England, SE3 7DH.

email: palmer@managingstress.com

REBT Website: http://members.tripod.co.uk/Stress_Centre/

Stress Website: http://www.managingstress.com

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