About
Thoughts for Change cards were developed by Deanna Norvell MS LMHC for use in her private therapy practice. Deanna has a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology and her private practice has focused on treating depression, anxiety, trauma, life transitions and co-occurring issues over the past 20 years. These thought-provoking cards incorporate techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Process Theory (IPT), along with a little common sense.
Deanna began creating and using replacement thought statement cards in 2014 after noticing clients struggled with understanding, identifying or writing replacement thought statements. This resulted in client frustration and lack of engagement in thought replacement strategies. Her idea was to simplify this step in the CBT process using short, first-person statements and questions. Clients could then use these statements in their exploration of thoughts, feelings and behaviors as well as a thought stopping/thought replacement tool.
Deanna noticed clients reacted positively to the cards and how having a tactile visual reminder resulted in greater focus outside the therapy session. Clients reported an increased awareness of their distress triggers, detrimental behavior habits, recurring negative, inaccurate or intrusive thoughts and automatic responses to recurring situations. With this new awareness clients began to talk about and explore their own ideas for making changes in their lives. Clients reported how card statements would pop into their minds when certain issues arose thus providing them with an opportunity to consider and make other choices. The cards also provided insight into the challenges a client may be experiencing and issues which had not been previously identified by the counselor or the client.
After seeing the benefit that the cards provided to her clients, Deanna was inspired to start her Thoughts for Change business. She has developed these Thoughts for Change products for professionals and as a self-help tool so that these simple but powerful cards can help other therapists, their clients and individuals as they continue their work in the realm of healing and self-awareness.
