Key Takeaways:
- CBT tackles unhelpful thoughts, DBT manages emotions and distress, and ACT promotes acceptance and living a valued life.
- Therapy worksheets can supplement such programs by providing clients with exercises and tips.
- Some therapy worksheets help clients understand new concepts, practice emotion regulation, and improve problem-solving skills.
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Worksheets are excellent learning tools that can help gauge a child’s understanding of certain topics, put learnings into practice, and build logic. DBT, CBT, and ACT are prominent therapeutic approaches, all of which you can reinforce through worksheets. But with so many worksheet options, how do you know which is right for you?
This guide will provide a list of therapy worksheets that can help you manage intense emotions, improve thought patterns, and live a more fulfilling life aligned with your values. Discover the best worksheets for your child’s specific needs.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Worksheets and Handouts
CBT can help individuals who feel stuck in their negative thought patterns. Here are a few CBT worksheets, handouts, and posters to help identify and challenge negative thinking.
The Cognitive (CBT) Triangle
The CBT triangle illustrates the interconnectedness of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, emphasizing how these three elements influence one another. It typically places thoughts at the top and emotions and behaviors at the bottom corners.
Understanding the CBT triangle provides a framework for identifying unhelpful thinking patterns and developing strategies for managing them.
Download the handout here
Cognitive Distortions Handout
CBT centers around cognitive distortions, which are inaccurate thinking patterns that negatively bias how you see yourself and the world [*]. Our handout outlines common cognitive distortions, such as catastrophizing, magnification/minimization, emotional reasoning, and jumping to conclusions. It helps individuals increase their self-awareness and reflect on their behaviors.
Download the handout here
Common Cognitive Distortions Handout
Part of overcoming cognitive distortions is learning to identify them. Use this handout of 15 common cognitive distortions to reflect on which ones you might be displaying.
Our handout lists thinking errors like emotional reasoning, magnification/minimization, blaming, and personalization.
Download the handout here
Cognitive Restructuring Handout
Cognitive restructuring is a technique that helps you notice, challenge, and replace your negative thinking patterns with more realistic or helpful thoughts. There are several techniques that help you to effectively utilize cognitive restructuring, including “thought record,” “reattribution,” “cognitive rehearsal,” and “cost-benefit analysis.”
Download the handout here
Decatastrophizing Handout
Decatastrophizing is a crucial technique for challenging and modifying distorted thinking patterns, specifically those that lead to excessive worry or anxiety. Our handout encourages clients to identify the catastrophic thought, examine the evidence, consider alternatives, and develop a coping plan to reduce stress and improve problem-solving.
Download the handout here
Challenging Negative Thoughts Poster
Negative thought patterns act like distorted lenses, coloring our perception of reality and fueling negative emotions. Challenging these patterns allows us to see situations more realistically, reducing emotional distress and empowering us to respond with healthier behaviors.
Use our handout on challenging negative thoughts as a reminder to stay grounded and fight against cognitive distortions.
Download the poster here
Anxious Thoughts Breakdown Worksheet
Anxious thoughts often snowball, leading to fear and avoidance. Breaking them down allows you to examine their validity. By questioning their accuracy and considering alternative perspectives, you can calm your emotions and make more rational decisions.
Our anxious thoughts breakdown worksheet asks clients to replace anxious thoughts with truthful, calm ones, which is especially helpful in CBT for teens.
Download the worksheet here
Exploring My Emotions Worksheet
Children, especially younger ones, may have trouble identifying and reflecting on their emotions. Thankfully, our worksheet makes this process simpler and more palatable. It provides visuals for children to learn more about how a specific emotion looks and feels. It asks them to reflect on their thoughts when they feel a particular emotion and how they act upon it.
Download the worksheet here
Changing Negative Thoughts Worksheet
Negative thoughts act like broken records, playing on repeat and fueling negativity. Changing them disrupts this cycle.
Use our worksheet to develop a more positive mindset and observe your thoughts without judgment.
Download the worksheet here
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Worksheets and Handouts
It’s common to feel overwhelmed by emotions, especially when undergoing something stressful. Dive into our DBT worksheets and handouts to learn skills for managing stress, regulating emotions, and building healthier relationships.
DBT Cheat Sheet Handout
It takes time to grasp DBT for kids and teens fully, but our DBT cheat sheet can provide essential and easy-to-reference material as you go on your healing journey. It outlines vital DBT strategies, such as self-soothing and emotion regulation, which clients can use to improve their coping mechanisms.
Download the handout here
Wise Mind Worksheets
Developing a wise mind means finding a balance between emotional and reasonable—an essential component of DBT for teens and kids. With our wise mind worksheets, clients can practice making rational decisions by acknowledging their emotions without judgment.
This collection of worksheets asks clients to recount stressful experiences and how they dealt with them, encouraging them to find more productive ways of reacting and coping.
Download the worksheets here
DBT STOP Skill Handout
The DBT STOP skill encourages individuals to step back, evaluate the situation, and find a productive response. Our worksheet provides methods for staying in control and acting less impulsively, leading to better decision-making.
Download the handout here
DBT TIPP Skills Worksheet
While developing long-term coping strategies in DBT is important, knowing short-term solutions like TIPP is just as essential. Our DBT TIPP skills worksheet outlines tips for regulating emotions and behavior, replacing dysfunctions that could harm them.
Download the worksheet here
Subjective Units Of Distress Scale (SUDS) Handout
The Subjective Units of Distress (SUD) Scale is a simple tool that measures the intensity of your distress on a scale from 0 (completely calm) to 100 (unbearably upset). Our handout helps people struggling with strong emotions become more aware of their emotional state. By assigning a number to their distress, they gain a more objective perspective and can track their progress in managing difficult emotions.
Download the handout here
Urge Surfing Worksheets
Urge surfing entails “riding out” the wave of emotions, encouraging individuals to approach stressors mindfully. Our urge surfing worksheets ask clients to reflect on their triggers and brainstorm mindfulness methods.
Download the worksheets here
DBT House Worksheet
The DBT house model represents an individual’s inner world—their values, hopes, emotions, and coping mechanisms. Our DBT house worksheet asks clients to explore different aspects of their lives, increasing self-awareness by reflecting on what influences them.
Download the worksheet here
DBT Coping Statements Handout
DBT coping statements are short, positive affirmations you can repeat to yourself during emotional distress. They challenge negative thinking patterns and promote acceptance. By focusing on these statements, you can calm your emotions and shift your perspective towards more effective ways of coping with challenging situations.
Download the handout here
Walking The Middle Path Skills Handout
If you struggle with all-or-nothing or black-and-white thinking, walking the middle path can teach you balance. Our handout encourages individuals to reflect on how they can practice self-care while caring for others, disagreeing with someone while remaining friends, and conveying their opinions without disrespect.
Download the handout here
Self-Soothe With 6 Senses Worksheets
Self-soothing with the six senses can train the body to reach a calm, peaceful place, thus establishing emotion regulation. Our worksheets suggest calming activities and motivate clients to reflect on triggers that affect each sense.
Download the worksheets here
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Worksheets and Handouts
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps you accept complex thoughts and feelings without judgment while committing to acting toward living a valued and meaningful life. Below are some ACT worksheets and handouts to help you begin the process. Here are some acceptance and commitment therapy worksheets to study:
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Worksheets and Handouts
Mindfulness in CBT involves cultivating present-moment awareness without judgment. By observing your thoughts and feelings with the help of these worksheets, you can gain a clearer perspective on their validity and influence on your behavior. Here are some mindfulness-based cognitive therapy worksheets and handouts to study:
Schema Therapy Worksheets and Handouts
Schema therapy focuses on identifying early childhood experiences that led to unhealthy thinking, feeling, and behavioral patterns. These schemas can be unhelpful in adulthood, and schema therapy worksheets and handouts aim to replace them with healthier coping mechanisms and more balanced ways of relating to yourself and the world. Here are some schema therapy worksheets and handouts to study:
Narrative Therapy Worksheets and Handouts
Narrative therapy views problems as separate from the person experiencing them. It focuses on helping individuals rewrite their life stories, emphasizing their strengths and resilience in overcoming challenges. By crafting a new narrative with the help of our worksheets, you can improve your sense of agency and foster a more positive outlook on life. Here are some narrative therapy worksheets and handouts to study:
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Worksheets and Handouts
Problem-solving is a core skill because it empowers individuals to take control of challenging situations. By identifying the problem, brainstorming solutions, evaluating their effectiveness, and implementing the most promising option, our worksheets can help navigate difficulties practically and effectively. Here are some solution-focused brief therapy worksheets and handouts to study:
The Bottom Line
Psychotherapy offers a diverse toolbox for addressing mental health challenges. By understanding the core principles of DBT, CBT, ACT, and other approaches through our worksheets, you can embark on a journey of self-discovery and emotional well-being.
Explore our entire collection of worksheets to improve your coping mechanisms and discover new tips and tricks.
Sources:
- Fortune, E. “Cognitive distortions as a component and treatment focus of pathological gambling: A review.” Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2012.