Exercises

Scaling - Beliefs About Yourself

Continuum strategies (or ‘scaling’) are a well-known cognitive intervention for re-evaluating absolute appraisals, including core beliefs, dysfunc ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/scaling-beliefs-about-yourself/

Scaling - Testing Your Assumptions

Continuum strategies are a well-known cognitive intervention for re-evaluating absolute appraisals, including core beliefs and dysfunctional assumptio ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/scaling-testing-your-assumptions/

Grounding Techniques

Individuals who have experienced trama often find it difficult to stay within the 'window of tolerance'. Grounding techniques (which can be sensory/pe ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/grounding-techniques/

Embracing Uncertainty

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) was first described in individuals suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Many behaviors associated with G ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/embracing-uncertainty/

Values

Meaningful activity is value-driven. This ACT-informed worksheet explores the key domains of values and encourages clients to reflect upon what is imp ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/values/

Before I Blame Myself And Feel Guilty

Guilt is a common post-traumatic reaction and is often the result of cognitive bias. This CBT worksheet explores common cognitive biases that have bee ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/before-i-blame-myself-and-feel-guilty/

Assertive Responses

Being able to communicate assertively is an essential skill for developing and maintaining healthy relationships and positive self-esteem. Individuals ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/assertive-responses/

Worry Flowchart

Worry is a cognitive process that involves thinking about problems that might happen in a way that causes anxiety. Not all worry is problematic – we ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/worry-flowchart/

Examining Your Negative Thoughts

Cognitive restructuring is an evidence-based intervention that involves identifying, evaluating, and modifying maladaptive cognitions, including negat ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/examining-your-negative-thoughts/

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive relaxation training originated in the 1930’s as a treatment for tension and anxiety. Edmund Jacobsen developed a systematic and lengthy ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/progressive-muscle-relaxation/

Worry Postponement

Worry postponement ("worry time") is often prescribed as an exploratory or standalone intervention relatively early in the treatment of GAD, but ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/worry-postponement/

Relaxed Breathing

Practising Relaxed Breathing serves to reduce physiological arousal and can be an excellent grounding technique. This client information handout descr ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/relaxed-breathing/

Decatastrophizing

Catastrophic thinking (magnification) is characteristic of many anxiety problems. This CBT worksheet for decatastrophizing is a tool for cognitive res ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/decatastrophizing/

Exposure And Response Prevention

Exposure And Response Prevention (ERP, EX/RP) is an effective treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This CBT worksheet guides therapists ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-and-response-prevention/

Intrusive Thoughts Images And Impulses

Intrusive Thoughts, Images, And Impulses that are experienced as distressing are a feature of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). They are also a com ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/intrusive-thoughts-images-and-impulses/

Safety Plan

The collaborative development of a safety plan is a brief psychosocial intervention for suicidal patients. The intent of a safety plan is to help ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/safety-plan/

Uncovering Your Deeper Beliefs

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) describes three levels of cognition: automatic thoughts, assumptions, and core beliefs. While CBT therapists do not ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/uncovering-your-deeper-beliefs/

Checklist For Better Sleep

Some sleep experts recommend that sleep hygiene issues be attended to as one component of treatment for poor sleep. This sleep hygiene worksheet is in ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/checklist-for-better-sleep/

Choosing Your Values

Values are the “principles for living” that capture what matters most to people. Elucidating values can serve many therapeutic functions, includin ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/choosing-your-values/

Exploring Valued Domains

Values are the “principles for living” that capture what matters most to people. Elucidating values can serve many therapeutic functions, such as ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exploring-valued-domains/

Pie Chart - Responsibility

The Pie Chart - Responsibility exercise is designed to guide clients through the process of clarifying and re-evaluating their responsibility for nega ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/pie-chart-responsibility/

OCD Hierarchy

Part of traditional CBT treatment for OCD is exposure to situations which trigger obsessions (classically accompanied by the prevention of the associa ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/ocd-hierarchy/

Nightmare Exposure And Rescripting

Imagery rescripting is an effective treatment for intrusive and unwanted memories. Nightmare Exposure And Rescripting employs similar techniques and c ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/nightmare-exposure-and-rescripting/

Interoceptive Exposure

Misappraisals of body sensations trigger emotional and physiological reactions of fear and heightened arousal. These feelings motivate behavioral resp ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/interoceptive-exposure/

Exposure Practice Form

Exposure is an effective treatment for many forms of anxiety. The Exposure Practice Form is a CBT worksheet which guides therapists and clients throug ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-practice-form/

Problem Solving

Problem Solving is a structured worksheet which encourages solution-focused thinking. Clients are encouraged to identify a problem, identify multiple ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/problem-solving/

Attention Training Experiment

Self-focused attention can make people less likely to see their social performance in a positive light, and contributes to the maintenance of social a ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/attention-training-experiment/

Learning To Relax (CYP)

Stress and tension are prevalent complaints amongst children and young people. Teaching relaxation exercises can engender a beneficial sense of contro ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/learning-to-relax-cyp/

Stimulus Discrimination

Stimulus discrimination is a component of cognitive behavioral treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Clients are guided to deliberately ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/stimulus-discrimination/

Pacing For Pain And Fatigue

Pacing is an evidence-based approach to increasing activity and fitness, and in reducing overall pain and fatigue. It is designed to prevent 'boom and ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/pacing-for-pain-and-fatigue/

How Does Emotion Affect Your Life?

Emotions are an essential part of being human. Everyone experiences a wide variety of emotions in response to changes in their thoughts, biology, and ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/how-does-emotion-affect-your-life/

Thoughts Or Feelings

Differentiating between thoughts and feelings (emotions and body sensations) is an essential skill in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Thoughts Or ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/thoughts-or-feelings/

Sleep Restriction

Sleep restriction is behavioral intervention used in the treatment of insomnia. It is an evidence based treatment for insomnia, both as a standalone t ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/sleep-restriction/

Attention Training Practice Record

When people struggle to control the focus of their attention, they find it much harder to interrupt cycles of worry, rumination, and other forms of se ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/attention-training-practice-record/

Coercive Methods For Enforcing Compliance

Individuals who have experienced abuse often focus on their own actions (or inactions) and blame themselves for their own abuse. This client informati ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/coercive-methods-for-enforcing-compliance/

What Do People Think About Themselves (CYP)?

People are not born with low self-esteem. Instead, we develop ideas about ourselves and our place in the world as a result of our life experiences. Pe ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/what-do-people-think-about-themselves-cyp/

Anger Decision Sheet

Individuals who have a problem with anger can benefit from considering and rehearsing different responses to triggering situations. The Anger Decision ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/anger-decision-sheet/

Motivation and Ambivalence

Motivation is a necessary precursor to change, yet many clients are ambivalent about the process of change. The Motivation And Ambivalence worksheets ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/motivation-and-ambivalence/

Am I Experiencing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a condition characterized by the presence of persistent obsessions, compulsions, or both. Am I Experiencing Obs ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/

Am I Experiencing Low Self-Esteem?

Low self-esteem is characterized by holding oneself in low regard. Am I Experiencing Low Self-Esteem? is an indicative screening questionnaire designe ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-low-self-esteem/

Problem Solving (CYP)

Effective problem solving is an essential life skill and this Problem Solving worksheet is designed to guide children and adolescents through steps wh ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/problem-solving-cyp/

Taking Panic Out Of The Body

A critical driver of panic reactions is catastrophic misinterpretation of body sensations. This worksheet helps therapists to teach clients about the ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/taking-panic-out-of-the-body/

Gratitude Journal

Cultivating gratitude is an evidence-based positive psychology technique. This information handout describes reasons to cultivate a grateful attitude ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/gratitude-journal/

Drawing Your Feelings (CYP)

Enhancing a child’s vocabulary for their feelings is one way of helping them to understand and learn to manage their internal world. The Drawing You ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/drawing-your-feelings-cyp/

Problem List

An important task during the assessment phase of therapy is to identify client difficulties. The Problem List worksheet is a helpful way of gatherin ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/problem-list/

Am I Experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)?

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a condition characterized by problematic worry. Am I Experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder? is an indicative ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad/

Facing Your Fears (CYP)

Graded or graduated exposure is a traditional way of overcoming fears and phobias. The therapist helps the client to draw up a list of feared situatio ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/facing-your-fears-cyp/

Am I Experiencing Burnout?

‘Burnout’ is characterized by feeling emotionally drained, unmotivated, and ineffective as a result of prolonged stress during work. This can impa ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-burnout/

Am I Experiencing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition characterized by unwanted memories of trauma, high levels of arousal, and avoidance. Am I Experie ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/

What If

"What if...?" questions are a powerful way in which anxious individuals generate or maintain anxious states, particularly in generalized anxiety disor ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/what-if/

Am I Experiencing Social Anxiety?

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent fear or anxiety concerning social or performance situations that is out of proportion to the ac ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-social-anxiety/

Am I Experiencing Depersonalization And Derealization?

Depersonalization-derealization disorder is a condition characterized by feelings of unreality and detachment from your self (your emotions, thoughts, ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-depersonalization-and-derealization/

Am I Experiencing Death Anxiety?

Am I Experiencing Death Anxiety? is an indicative screening tool, designed to help clients self-assess whether their experiences might warrant further ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-death-anxiety/

Am I Experiencing Health Anxiety?

Health anxiety (also referred to as illness anxiety disorder and hypochondriasis) is a condition characterized by a preoccupation with, or fear about, ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-health-anxiety/

Am I Experiencing Perfectionism?

Perfectionism is a condition characterized by pursuing and basing one’s self-worth on the achievement of high standards, despite the corresponding n ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-perfectionism/

Am I Experiencing Depression?

Depression is a condition characterized by an extended period of low mood, anhedonia, and reduction in activity. Am I Experiencing Depression? is an i ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-depression/

Treatment Planning Checklist

Some clients find it difficult to generate treatment goals for therapy. This simple handout presents problems that some people bring to therapy. It ca ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/treatment-planning-checklist/

Am I Experiencing Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)?

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a condition characterized by preoccupation with perceived flaws or faults in physical appearance that are not notice ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-body-dysmorphic-disorder-bdd/

Am I Experiencing Panic Attacks?

Panic attacks are discrete episodes of intense fear or apprehension. They are accompanied by the rapid and concurrent onset of characteristic symptoms ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-panic-attacks/

Am I Experiencing Psychosis?

Psychosis is an umbrella term which encompasses experiences such as delusions and hallucinations. Am I Experiencing Psychosis? is an indicative screen ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-psychosis/

Fact Or Opinion

One cognitive error which commonly results in distress is to act on our opinions as though they were facts. This CBT exercise helps clients to practic ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fact-or-opinion/

VAS Scale

Visual analogue scales (VAS's) can be used for subjective ratings of emotion or other sensations such as pain. This is a handy VAS scale in the style ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/vas-scale/

Meaning In Tinnitus

The psychological approach to tinnitus proposes that it is the meaning attached to perceptions which gives rise to distress - this is similar to the a ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/meaning-in-tinnitus/

Am I Experiencing Anorexia?

Anorexia (anorexia nervosa) is a condition characterized by the restriction of energy (food) intake relative to requirements, leading to a significant ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-anorexia/

Am I Experiencing Panic Disorder?

Panic attacks are discrete episodes of intense fear or apprehension, accompanied by the rapid and concurrent onset of several physiological and psycho ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-panic-disorder/

Am I Experiencing Bulimia?

Bulimia (bulimia nervosa) is a condition characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating, accompanied by repeated inappropriate compensatory behav ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/am-i-experiencing-bulimia/

Play The Script Till The End

Fears and worries can operate at different levels. Underlying one fear (e.g. "he won't turn up") can be deeper fears (e.g. "nobody will ever love me") ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/play-the-script-till-the-end/

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is a tool, originally from management theory, which can help to guide action in the face of uncertainty or ambivalence. Clients can be a ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/swot-analysis/

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