The Thinking Trap: A CBT Masterclass on Thoughts, Habits and Taking Back Control

We slip back into old habits not by accident, but because of a thought: "I deserve it," "one won't matter," "I've already blown it." These thoughts feel true and quietly drive what happens next - but thoughts aren't facts, and once you can spot them, you can respond to them.

In this masterclass, Dr David McLaughlan (Psychiatrist and Clinical Director, Clean Slate Clinic UK) and Georgina Moore (Clinician and Registered Nurse, Clean Slate AU) share a core idea from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: it's rarely the situation - a drink, a bet, a binge, a scroll - that drives the behaviour. It's what we tell ourselves.

They walk through the thought–feeling–behaviour cycle, the thinking traps that show up again and again in recovery, and why a single slip only turns into a spiral if the story allows it. You'll come away with the Four Cs - Catch, Check, Challenge, Change - a practical technique for interrupting unhelpful thoughts in real time, along with a one-page handout and a simple 7-day practice plan to put it into action.

Wherever you are in your recovery, this hour meets you there.

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Watch the recording to learn:

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✅ Understand the thought-feeling-behaviour cycle, and why thoughts aren't facts - however loud and convincing they feel.

✅ Recognise common thinking traps, including the ones that show up most in recovery.

✅ Apply the Four Cs - Catch, Check, Challenge, Change - to work with cravings, urges and difficult moments in real time.

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Resources:

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Unhelpful Thinking Styles

Use this guide to spot the thinking traps that quietly drive old habits, from all-or-nothing thinking to catastrophising and mind reading. Recognising your own patterns is the first step to challenging them. There's space to note which styles you recognise in yourself and log real examples as they come up.

Unhelpful Thinking Styles Guide

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Your 7-Day Practice Plan

Use this plan to put the Four Cs into practice, five minutes a day for a week. Each day builds a small rep - noticing the pull, catching a thought, naming the trap, then running it through Catch, Check, Challenge, Change. If you miss a day, just pick back up where you left off.

7-Day-Practice Plan

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Speakers:

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Georgina Moore | Clean Slate Clinic

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Georgina Moore is a Clinician and Registered Nurse at Clean Slate Clinic AU, with additional training in psychotherapy for alcohol and substance use recovery. She's passionate about equipping clients with practical CBT strategies at every stage of recovery.

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Dr David McLaughlan| Clean Slate Clinic

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Dr David McLaughlan is one of the UK's leading addiction psychiatrists and Academic Secretary of The Royal College of Psychiatrists' Addiction Faculty. He has contributed to research and treatment guidelines, and recently climbed Kilimanjaro for charity.