CBT Worksheets, Handouts, And Skills-Development Audio: Therapy Resources for Mental Health Professionals

What Is Psychology Tools?

Psychology Tools is a leading developer and publisher of evidence-based psychotherapy resources and tools for mental health professionals. Our comprehensive online library provides everything you need – CBT worksheets, psychoeducation handouts, therapeutic exercises, and more – to deliver more effective therapy and support your clinical practice.

• Access a wide variety of topics and resource types.

• Feel confident knowing you’ll always have accessible, evidence-based materials to guide your work with clients.

• Support clients facing diverse challenges, at any stage, and in multiple modalities.

Choose from assessment and case formulations, interventions, skills-development exercises, and a range of other resources. Each tool comes with detailed therapist guidance, references, and step-by-step instructions. Whether you’re an experienced clinician or newer to the field, Psychology Tools offers clear, reliable materials to expand your practice.

Are These Therapy Resources Right for You?

Psychology Tools is trusted by thousands of professionals worldwide as a key component of their clinical work. Our resources are designed for clients who experience psychological difficulties or distress. Professionals who rely on our library include:

• Clinical, Counseling, and Practitioner Psychologists

• Coaches

• Counselors

• Family Doctors / General Practitioners

• Licensed Clinical Social Workers

• Mental Health Nurses

• Psychiatrists

• Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners

• Psychotherapists

• Therapists (CBT Therapists, ACT Therapists, DBT Therapists)

These evidence-based resources suit individuals, teams, and students across different therapeutic modalities and career stages.

Our Range of Evidence-Based Resources

Exercises

Many evidence-based psychotherapies (including CBT, REBT, compassion-focused therapy, schema therapy, and emotion-focused therapy) use exercises to deepen client understanding and engagement. Psychology Tools offers a variety of therapeutic exercises that can help you:

• Introduce and explain key concepts

• Gather information on client challenges

• Bring therapeutic ideas to life

• Keep therapy active and engaging

• Alleviate distress or reduce problematic symptoms

• Practice new coping strategies

• Develop insight and self-awareness

• Build client confidence and a sense of progress

Our exercises can be integrated into sessions, assigned as homework, or used as stand-alone interventions. Many are evidence-based (shown to effectively treat certain difficulties) or evidence-derived (part of a proven treatment program).

Use our exercises to:

• Develop case conceptualizations, formulations, and treatment plans

• Address specific difficulties (e.g., worry, insomnia, or self-focused attention)

• Introduce clients to grounding, problem-solving, relaxation, or assertiveness skills

• Support exposure and response prevention, safety planning, and perspective-taking interventions

• Prepare for supervision and map out treatment plans

Each exercise is designed for practicality and convenience. Most include simple instructions for independent or in-session use. You’ll also find therapist guidance, providing background information, aims, uses, and references.

Information Handouts

Research shows that up to 40–80% of medical (and likely therapeutic) information is forgotten by patients (Kessels, 2003; Overmeer & Boersma, 2016). Information handouts from Psychology Tools can help clients retain and understand psychoeducation, empowering them to:

• Understand their difficulties and maintaining factors

• Learn what therapy is and how it works

• Build on session discussions and remember key details

• Develop a personal library of resources to use between appointments

Our illustrated handouts draw on scientific evidence, best practice guidelines, and expert opinion. Topics include:

• “What is…” handouts: Summaries of mental health problems (e.g., anxiety, depression), therapeutic approaches (e.g., CBT, EMDR), and psychological mechanisms (e.g., worry, rumination).

• “What keeps it going…” handouts: Explains key mechanisms maintaining difficulties such as burnout, panic disorder, PTSD, and perfectionism.

• “Recognizing…” handouts: Guides to identifying and assessing specific disorders.

• Simple explanations of key concepts: e.g., safety behaviors, psychological flexibility, thought suppression, unhelpful thinking styles.

• Overviews of important theories: e.g., operant conditioning and exposure.

Each handout includes therapist guidance to help you introduce psychoeducation topics, lead effective discussions, and ensure material is relevant to your client.

Worksheets

Worksheets are core to many evidence-based therapies like CBT. Our worksheets come in various forms (diaries, diagrams, activity planners, records, questionnaires) and can be used throughout therapy to:

• Assess and monitor client difficulties

• Inform treatment planning and decision-making

• Teach skills (e.g., self-monitoring, thought challenging)

• Ensure real-world application of therapy insights

• Track progress over time

• Promote active client involvement in recovery

Clients benefit by becoming more aware of their difficulties, practicing new techniques, and feeling empowered to manage their symptoms. We offer both general-purpose worksheets and disorder-specific or modality-specific forms (e.g., schema therapy or compassion-focused therapy). Most are available as fillable or editable formats for easy tailoring.

Guides & Self-Help

Our ‘Understanding…’ series introduces common mental health difficulties (e.g., depression, PTSD, social anxiety) in a clear, accessible format so clients can grasp the key concepts without prior therapy knowledge. These guides typically cover:

• What the problem is

• How it arises and what keeps it going

• Where it might come from

• How the problem can be treated

Other guides focus on issues like trauma and dissociation or perfectionism. They often blend psychoeducation, practical exercises, and skills development, promoting knowledge, optimism, and positive action. Therapists can use them for:

• Screening: Clients can self-assess if a difficulty applies

• Psychoeducation: Clients learn crucial information

• Self-help: Key techniques and strategies for positive change

Each guide includes examples, illustrations, and straightforward instructions to encourage application in daily life.

Therapy Audio

Audio exercises bring variety to therapy, offering a convenient and engaging way for clients to:

• Strengthen and consolidate in-session learning

• Practice new skills at home

• Integrate therapeutic concepts into daily routines

• Maintain continuity between meetings

Our audio collections, developed and recorded by experienced clinical psychologists, include:

• Psychology Tools for Developing Self-Compassion

• Psychology Tools for Relaxation

• Psychology Tools for Mindfulness

• Psychology Tools for Overcoming PTSD

These can be used in-session, as homework, or as standalone interventions.

Treatments That Work™

Written by leading psychologists like David Barlow, Michelle Craske, and Edna Foa, Treatments That Work™ is a series of CBT-based therapist guides and workbooks. Each pair (therapist guide + workbook) includes step-by-step procedures, clinical illustrations, and worksheets for issues like depression, OCD, social anxiety, and substance use. Use these workbooks to:

• Plan treatment for specific difficulties

• Guide clients through self-help interventions

• Supplement therapy with structured exercises

• Consolidate session content

• Continue ongoing interventions post-treatment

All books are downloadable chapter-by-chapter. If you’re on the Psychology Tools ‘Complete’ plan, you’re licensed to share them with clients.

Archived Resources

We frequently review and update our library to stay current with best practices. However, if you prefer older versions of certain resources for your workflow, you can still access them in our archive. When we improve a resource, we make it clear, so you can decide which version to use.

Series and Ranges

In addition to topic-specific resources, we publish ranges and series to streamline how you find materials:

• ‘What is…’ series: One-page summaries of common mental health problems and therapeutic approaches.

• ‘What keeps it going…’ series: One-page diagrams illustrating maintenance factors in conditions like burnout, panic disorder, PTSD, and perfectionism.

• ‘Recognizing…’ series: Guides for identifying and assessing specific disorders.

• ‘Understanding…’ series: Comprehensive psychoeducation guides for common mental health conditions, with examples and diagrams.

• ‘Guide to…’ resources: Detailed insights into specific conditions or approaches, including information, exercises, and skills development.

• ‘Self-monitoring’ collection: Problem-specific logs and records to help clients and therapists track symptoms and progress effectively.

Multilingual Library of Therapy Resources

Psychology Tools hosts the largest online, searchable library of multilingual therapy resources, with over 3,500 tools across 70 languages. Translations are done by professional translators experienced in psychology, plus our volunteer mental health professionals. This helps you provide clients with resources in their native language, enhancing their understanding and engagement.

• Locate the resource you need, then view available languages.

• Or filter by language to see all available materials in that language.

Resource Formats & Best Practices

We understand clinicians work differently, so our resources come in multiple formats:

• Professional version (PDF): Available in fillable PDF format where appropriate, the professional version of a resource includes the resource plus therapist guidance, theoretical context, instructions, prompts, and references.

• Client version (PDF): Available in fillable PDF format where appropriate, the client version of a resource includes a blank version with client-friendly instructions, ideal for printing or sharing.

• Editable PowerPoint documents: Many of our worksheets are available in PowerPoint format. Great for customizing resource structure or tailoring to individual clients.

• Editable Word documents: Many of our worksheets are available in Word format. Ideal for making changes or personalizing the resource before printing.

How We Design Our Resources

All Psychology Tools content is informed by evidence-based treatments, best practice guidelines, and up-to-date research. Written by highly experienced therapists and mental health experts, every resource undergoes a rigorous peer-review process to ensure accuracy and user-friendliness.

Designed for Clients

• Clear, user-friendly language

• Visual aids, case examples, and diagrams

• Practical tips on how to use and apply the resource

Designed for Clinicians

• Contextual information linking theory and practice

• Therapist prompts, instructions, references

• Targeted discussions on how resources can be most effective for specific challenges

We often follow the principle of one concept per page, simplifying information and encouraging deeper client engagement without overwhelming them. Our materials are action-focused, promoting self-monitoring, goal-setting, and measurable progress.

Finding the Right Resources

This page (or resource library) lets you explore everything Psychology Tools offers. Filters on the left-hand side (or top) help you customize your search by:

• Resource type (e.g., worksheet, exercise, handout)

• Problem (e.g., anxiety, depression, insomnia)

• Therapy tool (e.g., CBT, ACT, DBT)

• Language

You can also use the search box to find specific keywords or topics. For more detailed instructions, see our Help Center.

Sharing Resources with Clients

If you have a paid Psychology Tools membership, you are licensed to share resources with clients in the course of your professional work. You can even email resources—such as large audio files—securely and directly from our website. This helps streamline your workflow and encourages clients to practice newly learned strategies between sessions.

Need More Help?

For additional guidance, explore our How-To Guides or check the FAQ in our Help Center where you’ll find answers to questions like “How do I download resources?” or “How do I email resources to my clients?”

References

• Kessels, R. P. C. (2003). Patients’ memory for medical information. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 96, 219–222.

• Overmeer, T., & Boersma, K. (2016). What messages do patients remember? Relationships among Patients' perceptions of physical Therapists' messages, patient characteristics, satisfaction, and outcome. Physical therapy, 96(3), 275-283.

Ready to Explore?

Sign up for a free trial or browse the full library to see how Psychology Tools can enhance your clinical practice and improve client outcomes.