Controlling impulsive behavior worksheet
By
Dr Vlad Burtăverde
| Reviewed by
Dr Sabina Alispahic (PhD)
The contents of this article are fact-based except otherwise stated within the article.
Author bio
I am Vlad Burtăverde, PhD, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest. I am a licensed psychotherapist familiar with DBT and CBT. I am an experienced researcher with international visibility, being a PhD in psychometrics and personality psychology. I used many multivariate statistics in the research I did.
Recent work
Burtăverde, V., Jonason, P. K., Giosan, C., & Ene, C. (2021). Why do people watch porn? An evolutionary perspective on the reasons for pornography consumption. Evolutionary Psychology, 19(2), 14747049211028798.https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049211028798
“SOME IMPORTANT MOMENTS IN MY CAREER
2013: I started working as a psychologist and became a member of the Romanian College of Psychologists
2013: I founded the consulting agency in psychology and human resources NEO Assessment & Research
2014: I became a teaching assistant and researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest.
2015: I started working as a scientific reviewer for international scientific journals such as the Journal of Risk Research, Personality and Individual Differences, Psychological Reports, Accident Analysis & Prevention.
2015: I became a member of international psychology associations such as: Association for research in Personality, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, European Association of Personality Psychology, World Association for Personality Psychology.
2016: I published the Handbook of Personality Psychology at Trei Publishing House, Bucharest, Romania.
2016: I started collaborating with the research laboratory in Personality Psychology at the University of Groningen under the coordination of Prof. Boele De Raad.
2017: I completed my doctoral studies at the University of Bucharest.
2017: I started working as an associate lecturer at SNSPA, Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Psychology.
2018: I became an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest.
2018: I completed my professional training in integrative psychotherapy at the Romanian Institute of Integrative Psychotherapy.
2019: I started working as an associate lecturer at the “Mihai Viteazul” National Academy of Information.
2019: I started the collaboration with the laboratory of Personality, Relationships and Evolutionary Psychology coordinated by Prof. Peter K. Jonason at the University of Padua.
2020: I won through a public competition the postdoctoral research project entitled: Life-history strategies and aggressive driving. An integrative framework for assessing and managing aggressive driving, funded by UEFISCI.
2020: I started working as an associate editor for the scientific journal Frontiers in Psychology – Evolutionary Psychology.
2021: I became an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest.
2021: I started to collaborate with the research laboratory in Evolutionary Psychology at Oakland University, Michigan, coordinated by Prof. Todd. K. Shackelford.
2021: I founded the Association of Personality and Evolutionary Psychology.
2022: I founded Evolutionary-consulting, a consulting agency in the field of human capital
2022: I founded HelloMe, a psychology services hub
2023: I founded the Laboratory of Personality and Evolutionary Psychology, University of Bucharest
2023: I published the first book chapter about the mating strategies of dark personalities in the Oxford of Human Mating, edited by D.M. Buss.
2023: I sustained the Habilitation thesis entitled Individual differences in personality. Predictors of adaptive and maladaptive behavior, which offers the possibility to be an advisor for doctoral students. “
Check my professional profiles at
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vlad-Burtaverde
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sJo62fUAAAAJ&hl=en
https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/1026658/overview
https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/1026658/network
https://www.iea.nl/about/org/people/dr-vlad-burtaverde
https://twitter.com/vladjuve?lang=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.vlad.burtaverde
https://www.facebook.com/psihologvladburtaverde/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlad-burtaverde-35119351/
https://cipp.ug.edu.pl/Author-Vlad-Burtaverde/168949
https://www.psih.uaic.ro/a/_fis/sc_doc/_cv_refer/cv_burtaverde_v.pdf
Reviewer bio
Dr Sabina Alispahic, PhD, is a psychologist and gestalt psychotherapist with expertise in clinical and health psychology.
Dr Sabina Alispahic’s Highlights:
- Associate Professor at the University of Sarajevo for the past 12 years
- PhD in psychology at the University of Zagreb
- European Certificate of Psychotherapy
Professional experience
Dr Alispahic pioneered innovative teaching methods as an associate professor of clinical and health psychology, inspiring a new generation of mental health professionals while contributing to the field for over 12 years. Also, she empowered individuals across the globe as an online psychotherapist, delivering life-changing therapy and earning a reputation for compassionate care and exceptional results. She has demonstrated expertise in a range of therapeutic approaches (CBT, ACT, Gestalt, mindfulness, and family constellations).
Certifications
European Certificate of Psychotherapy (Education in Gestalt Psychotherapy Training of the Malta Institute)
Eight-week stress reduction mindfulness programme, Society of Psychologists in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Education
2009-2013 University of Zagreb, Faculty of Philosophy, Postgraduate Doctoral Studies in Psychology
2004-2008 University of Sarajevo, Faculty of Philosophy, Master Studies, Department of Psychology
Publications
Books
Alispahic. S. (2021). Selected topics from psychotherapy Sarajevo: TDP.
Alispahic. S. (2020). Online psychotherapy. Handbook for psychotherapists and clients Sarajevo: TDP.
Alispahic, S., and Godinjak, A. (2018). (R)evolution of the doctor-patient relationship. Sarajevo: TDP.
Alispahic, S. (2016). The psychology of pain Sarajevo: Faculty of Philosophy (e-publication, Bosnian language): https://ebooks.ff.unsa.ba/index.php/ebooks_ffunsa/catalog/book/29
Book chapters
Alispahic, S. (2018). Psychological Theory and Therapy of Traumatic Memory In: A. Hamburger (ur.), Trauma, Trust, and Memory: Social Trauma and Reconciliation in Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, and Cultural Memory, 23-35. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Markovic Pavlovic, M., Alispahic, S., and Dautbegovic, A. (2015). Psychology of Nonkilling in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Knowledge and Attitudes of Students Towards Nonkilling Culture. In: R. Bahtijaragic i J. E. Pim (ur.), Nonkilling Balkans, 171-183. Honolulu: Centre for Global Nonkilling, and Sarajevo: Faculty of Philosophy.
Link: http://nonkilling.org/pdf/nkbalkans.pdf
Articles
Alispahic, S., & Alispahic, B. (2021). Definition of police psychology: The role of psychologists in the police. Technium Soc. Sci. J., 17, 235-244.
Link: https://techniumscience.com/index.php/socialsciences/article/view/2678
Alispahic, S., Hasanbegovic-Anic, E., & Tuce, Đ. (2021). Big Five Personality Traits as Predictors of Mindfulness: A Study on a Bosnian Sample. Epiphany, 14(1), 146-155.
Link: http://epiphany.ius.edu.ba/index.php/epiphany/article/view/357
Alispahic, S. & Hodžić Küreç, A. (2021). How does yoga affect health? Yoga teachers’ experiences. International Scientific Journal of Kinesiology, Vol. 12, 2, 135-140.
Hasanbegovic-Anic, E., Sandic, A., and Alispahic, S. (2018). Prevention of substance abuse in children and adolescents: an evidence-based practice approach. Epiphany, 11(1), 11-30.
Link: http://epiphany.ius.edu.ba/index.php/epiphany/article/view/280
Alispahic, S. and Hasanbegovic-Anic, E. (2017). Mindfulness: Age and Gender Differences in a Bosnian Sample. Psychological Thought, Vol. 10 (1), 155–166.
Hadziahmetovic, N., Alispahic, S., Tuce, Đ., i Hasanbegovic-Anic, E. (2016). Therapist interpersonal style and therapy benefit as determinants of client personality self-reports in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Vojnosanit Pregl, 73 (2): 135–145.
Alispahic, S., Hasanbegovic-Anic, E., Tuce, Đ., Hadziahmetovic, N., Sandic, A. (2014). Characteristics of Patients Involved in Psychotherapy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Journal of Health Sciences, 4 (1): 4-6.
Link: https://www.jhsci.ba/ojs/index.php/jhsci/article/view/142
Alispahic, S. (2013). Motivational function of plans and goals. Psychological Thought, Vol. 6 (2), 96–203.
Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258225796_Motivational_Function_of_Plans_and_Goals
Professional profiles
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sabina-Alispahic
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=hr&user=TnYiVK0AAAAJ
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabina-alispahić/
Download Worksheet
What is the theory behind this worksheet?
This worksheet is based on a CBT approach, meant to explain the connection between thoughts, feelings and behavior, in order to replace distorted thoughts with realistic and positive ones, thus controlling impulsive urges (Schag et al., 2015).
How will this worksheet help
This worksheet will help clients reflect on their impulsive behavior, understand what causes it and what emotions are attached to it, but also encourage clients to engage in safer behavior, in order to control their impulses?
How to use the worksheet
Sometimes, you might find yourself acting quickly with no thoughts of the consequences, your mind is focused on the present moment. Everyone can act on impulse once in a while, especially when we are young. Perhaps you ate that cake when you were supposed to keep a diet or yelled at your kids because they simply happened to forget to take out the trash on the exact day you had an argument at work. Some studies suggest that the processes involved in decision-making and mechanisms concerned with impulsivity take place in specific parts of the prefrontal lobe, but it is widely known that impulsive behavior is dictated by the production of dopamine in our brains, making it harder for people who suffer from addictions to recover (Bakhshani, 2014).
To help you manage your impulses, we propose you an exercise focused on understanding how the impulsive behavior appears, the alternative of the said behavior and the benefits of the respective alternative.
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References
1.-
Bakhshani, N.-M. (2014). Impulsivity: A Predisposition Toward Risky Behaviors. International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.5812/ijhrba.20428
2.-
Schag, K., Leehr, E. J., Martus, P., Bethge, W., Becker, S., Zipfel, S., & Giel, K. E. (2015). Impulsivity-focused group intervention to reduce binge eating episodes in patients with binge eating disorder: study protocol of the randomised controlled IMPULS trial. BMJ Open, 5(12), e009445. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-009445
