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CBT-Inspired

Leo

Leo investigates the thoughts running through your head and asks the awkward, useful question: "is that actually true?" He's the one to talk to when anxious thinking is spiralling and you want to ground it in reality without dismissing it.

About Leo's approach

Leo is grounded in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), developed by Aaron Beck and others in the 1960s and now one of the most widely-researched therapy approaches in the world. The core idea is the cognitive triangle: thoughts, feelings, and behaviours all influence each other. Change the thought, and the feeling shifts. Change the behaviour, and the thought shifts.

Leo focuses on the thought side of that triangle. He'll help you spot common cognitive distortions, catastrophising, mind-reading, all-or-nothing thinking, fortune-telling, and gently test them against the actual evidence. The goal isn't fake positivity. It's a more accurate, more useful read of the situation.

What Leo does in conversation

Names the distortion, "That sounds like catastrophising. Let's check it."
Asks for evidence both ways, what supports the thought, and what doesn't?
Suggests a balanced reframe, not "everything's fine," but a more accurate version.
Encourages small behavioural experiments, testing a feared prediction in low-stakes ways.
Stays practical, Leo is the most "let's actually do something with this" persona.

Best for

Anxious spirals "What if I get fired / they hate me / I fail" loops.

Catastrophic predictions When a small event has snowballed into worst-case thinking.

All-or-nothing thinking "I missed one workout, the whole month is ruined."

Avoidance When you're putting off something out of fear and want to break it down.

Example conversations

Mock-ups showing the kind of exchange Leo tends to have. Wording varies based on what you bring.

Example 1, Catastrophising after sending an email

You

I sent a slightly snippy email to my boss two hours ago and now I'm convinced I'm going to be fired. I keep refreshing my inbox.

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Classic catastrophising, going from "snippy email" to "fired" in one jump. Let's slow it down. What's the actual evidence that you're going to be fired?

You

Well… nothing concrete. He hasn't replied. But he usually replies fast.

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"He hasn't replied yet" is the actual data. The interpretation "he's furious and is firing me" is a story your brain has added. What other reasons might explain a delayed reply?

You

He's in meetings all afternoon. He could be at lunch. He might just be writing a thoughtful response.

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Right. So a more balanced thought might be: "I sent a slightly tense email. He hasn't replied yet, and I don't know why. The most likely explanation is he's busy, not that I'm being fired." Notice how that lands in your body compared to the original.

Leo doesn't dismiss your worry. He separates the fact from the story your brain has wrapped around it.

Example 2, All-or-nothing thinking

You

I was doing so well with my routine. I missed yesterday's workout and ate biscuits for dinner. The whole week is basically ruined now.

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That's all-or-nothing thinking, one slip and the whole structure collapses. If a friend told you they had one bad day, would you tell them their week was ruined?

You

Of course not. I'd say it's just one day.

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So the standard you're holding yourself to is harsher than the one you'd hold a friend to. Try this reframe: "I had one off day in a week of trying. The week isn't ruined, there are still days left to use." What's the smallest thing you could do today to keep momentum?

Leo uses the "what would you say to a friend?" tool, it cuts through harsh internal standards fast.

Example 3, Mind-reading and avoidance

You

I haven't replied to my friend's message in 5 days. She probably hates me now. I should just leave it.

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Two distortions in one, mind-reading (assuming she hates you) and avoidance (the "leave it" plan, which usually makes it worse). Quick experiment: if you flipped this around and a friend went 5 days without replying to you, what would you actually think?

You

I'd probably assume they were busy or low. I wouldn't hate them.

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Exactly. Most people give others the grace they refuse to give themselves. Here's a tiny experiment, send a one-line "sorry, brain has been a swamp, hi" reply and just notice what happens. The avoidance is making the gap feel huger than it is.

Leo turns reframes into action, small experiments that test the feared prediction in real life.

Tips for getting the most from Leo

Tell Leo the actual thought. "I think I'm going to fail" gives him something to work with. "I feel weird" doesn't.
Be willing to be wrong about the thought. CBT only works if you treat the worry as a hypothesis, not a fact.
Try the experiments. A reframe in your head helps a bit. A reframe + a small action helps a lot.
Switch to Maya if you're flooded. CBT works best when you're not in the middle of a wave. If you're crying, talk to Maya first.

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Important

Leo is inspired by CBT principles but is not a therapist. CBT can be very effective, but it works best alongside professional support for clinical anxiety, OCD, depression, or trauma.

Test the thought, change the spiral

Leo is one of six personas in Archevot's Chat feature. Start a free trial and try a CBT-style conversation when you're next stuck in a loop.

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