# CBT Worksheets > A set of CBT worksheets for between-session practice: a thought record, a thinking-traps checklist, a weekly activity plan, a grounding breathing exercise, a worry tree, and a weekly reflection page. Source: https://buildpdfs.com/templates/cbt-worksheets Category: Health & Wellness A set of CBT worksheets for between-session practice: a thought record, a thinking-traps checklist, a weekly activity plan, a grounding breathing exercise, a worry tree, and a weekly reflection page. ## What's included - How-to-use page explaining when to reach for each worksheet - Thought record with situation, automatic thought, evidence, and a balanced re-rate - Ten common thinking traps with plain-language examples - Weekly activity plan with a mastery and pleasure rating - Grounding breathing exercise and a worry tree flowchart - Weekly reflection page with a mood tracker ## Sample content Still Water Counselling Worksheet set · Anxious thoughts A CBT worksheet set ### Between_Sessions_ Eight quiet pages for noticing anxious thoughts, testing them gently, and finding a steadier way through the week. Name Week of Next session These worksheets support, not replace, your sessions. Set 03 · 8 pages Still Water Counselling Between Sessions · **Start here** 02Start here ### How to use _these pages_ This set is for the days between our conversations. It helps you catch anxious thoughts as they happen, look at them more closely, and try small things that make the week feel a little more manageable. 1 ##### Little and often Five minutes most days helps more than one long evening. Keep the pages somewhere you will see them. 2 ##### Write it while it is fresh Notes made close to the moment are more accurate. A few words on your phone is fine — copy them in later. 3 ##### There are no right answers Messy, half-finished pages are useful. We are looking for patterns, not perfect handwriting. 4 ##### Be curious, not critical Try to watch your thoughts the way a kind friend would — interested in them, not judging them. 5 ##### Choose what fits You do not need every page every week. Start with the thought record; add others as they help. 6 ##### Bring them with you We will look at them together. What felt hard to do is just as useful to talk about as what went well. In this set 1. 03Thought record Daily 2. 04Common thinking traps Read 3. 05Weekly activity plan Plan 4. 06Grounding & breathing As needed 5. 07The worry tree Daily 6. 08Weekly reflection Weekend A note from your counsellor Anxious thoughts are very convincing. They arrive fast, they sound like facts, and they usually ask us to avoid something. These pages are a way of slowing them down enough to ask, _“Is that the whole story?”_ Some days that will feel easy and some days it won’t. Both are part of the work. Go gently, and bring whatever you have — even a blank page tells us something. Maren Holt MSc · Registered Counsellor · Still Water Counselling **A small, honest note**These worksheets support, not replace, your sessions. They are tools to practise with between our conversations, not a test you can pass or fail. **If things feel unsafe**These pages are not for emergencies. If you feel at risk of harming yourself, call your local emergency number or a crisis line straight away, then let me know when you can. Name 2 _/ 8_ Still Water Counselling Between Sessions · **Thought record** 03Worksheet one ### Thought _record_ Date Time 1 ##### Situation Where · when · who What was happening when the feeling started? Just the facts, as a camera would see it. 2 ##### Automatic thought What went through your mind? Circle the one that hits hardest — the _hot thought._ 3 ##### Emotion Rate 0–100 Name each feeling in one word, then how strong it was. % % % **0** **50** **100** barely there the most I have felt 4 ##### Evidence for Facts that support the hot thought — not feelings or guesses. 5 ##### Evidence against What would a good friend say? Has it gone differently before? 6 ##### Balanced thought A fairer view that makes room for all the evidence. It does not have to be positive — just more complete. 7 ##### Re-rate Now 0–100 How strong is the feeling now? A small drop counts. % % % If you feel stuck on step 5, try asking: “What would I tell someone I love who had this thought?” Name 3 _/ 8_ Still Water Counselling Between Sessions · **Thinking traps** 04To read and recognise ### Common _thinking traps_ Everyone’s mind falls into these. They are habits, not flaws. Naming one when it shows up can loosen its grip. Tick the ones you recognise. i ##### All-or-nothing thinking Seeing things in only two boxes, with nothing in between. “If the talk isn’t perfect, it’s a disaster.” vi ##### Mental filter Noticing only the one thing that went wrong. “Nine kind comments, and I keep thinking about the one that wasn’t.” ii ##### Catastrophising Jumping to the worst possible outcome. “My chest feels tight — something must be seriously wrong.” vii ##### Discounting the positive Deciding that good things don’t count. “I only coped because it was an easy day.” iii ##### Mind reading Being sure you know what others are thinking. “She didn’t reply. She must be annoyed with me.” viii ##### “Should” statements Strict rules about how you or others must be. “I should be over this by now.” iv ##### Fortune telling Predicting the future as if it were fact. “I’ll panic on the train, so there’s no point going.” ix ##### Emotional reasoning Taking a feeling as proof that something is true. “I feel anxious, so it must be dangerous.” v ##### Overgeneralising One event becomes “always” or “never”. “I stumbled over my words. I always mess things up.” x ##### Labelling Summing up a whole person with one harsh word. “I forgot the email. I’m useless.” ##### Which two visit most often? Write them here, with one moment this week when you caught one in the act. Name 4 _/ 8_ Still Water Counselling Between Sessions · **Activity plan** 05Behavioural activation ### A week of _small, doable things_ Anxiety tends to shrink our days. Plan a few activities ahead, then rate each one afterwards. Act first; the feeling often follows. | Week of | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------- | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- | | Morning Until noon | Walk to the bakery, not the car M_6_ P_7_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | | Afternoon Noon – 6 | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | | Evening After 6 | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | M_·_ P_·_ | | Mood 0 – 10 | | | | | | | | ##### Mastery · 0–10 How much of a sense of achievement did it give you, given how you felt that day? Getting up on a hard morning can be a 9. ##### Pleasure · 0–10 How much did you enjoy it, even a little? Low numbers are useful too — they show us what to adjust. ##### Ideas, if you are stuck * **Routine** — a proper breakfast, a tidy desk, an early night * **Pleasant** — music while cooking, a bath, ten minutes outside * **Necessary** — the phone call or bill you have been putting off ##### What did you notice? How was your mood on the days you did more, compared with the days you did less? Name 5 _/ 8_ Still Water Counselling Between Sessions · **Grounding** 06For anxious moments ### Come back to _right here_ When anxiety pulls you into the future, your senses can bring you back to the present. 5 ##### things you can see Look The light on a wall, a colour, a crack in the pavement. 4 ##### things you can feel Touch Your feet on the floor, the weight of your sleeves. 3 ##### things you can hear Listen Near sounds, then far ones. 2 ##### things you can smell Breathe Soap, coffee, the air outside. Or two smells you like. 1 ##### thing you can taste Notice Or one kind thing you can say to yourself. Box breathing ##### Four sides, four counts Trace the square with your eyes or a finger. Breathe in through your nose, out slowly through your mouth. Try it when * you are waiting for news * before a hard conversation * you are lying awake at night _If four feels too long, count to three._ Slow and steady is enough; there is no need to breathe deeply. Stop if you feel light-headed. Rounds today Name 6 _/ 8_ Still Water Counselling Between Sessions · **Worry time** 07When a worry arrives ### The _worry tree_ Some worries point to a problem we can act on. Others are “what ifs” that no amount of thinking will settle. This tree helps you tell them apart. ##### Worry _time_ 1. Choose 15–20 minutes each day, at the same time and place — not just before bed. 2. When a worry shows up during the day, jot it down and tell yourself, “Not now — later.” 3. At worry time, read the list. Cross out what no longer matters; use the tree on the rest. 4. When time is up, stop, and do something that needs your attention. My worry time is at In this place | Time | Worry, in a few words | Still matters? | | ----- | --------------------------------------- | -------------- | | 10:40 | What if I freeze in Thursday’s meeting? | Y · N | | | | Y · N | | | | Y · N | | | | Y · N | | | | Y · N | | | | Y · N | | | | Y · N | | | | Y · N | Name 7 _/ 8_ Still Water Counselling Between Sessions · **Reflection** 08End of the week ### Looking _back, gently_ Ten quiet minutes at the end of the week. Notice what changed, however small. Mood tracker ##### Fill one dot each evening 0 is the lowest you have felt, 10 the best. Join the dots to see the shape of your week. For next time ##### Bring this to our next session * At least one thought record — finished or not * Your activity plan, with the ratings * The thinking trap that visited most * One moment that went better than you expected * Anything that felt too hard _— that is useful too_ * A question you would like to ask me Date Time 1 ##### Something I noticed about my thoughts, my body, or my week 2 ##### Something that helped a page, a person, a walk, a breath 3 ##### Something that was hard and what I did, or might try next time 4 ##### A thought I questioned and the fairer view I found Whatever this week held, you showed up for it. That counts. Name 8 _/ 8_ ## Frequently asked questions ### What are CBT worksheets used for? CBT worksheets help someone notice an anxious or unhelpful thought, check it against the evidence, and replace it with a more balanced one. Therapists and coaches give them as homework between sessions. ### What is a thought record? A thought record is the core CBT worksheet. It walks through a situation, the automatic thought, the feeling it caused, the evidence for and against the thought, and a more balanced thought to replace it. This template includes one. ### Can I use these worksheets without a therapist? Yes. Many people use thought records and thinking-trap checklists on their own to notice patterns in their thinking. They work best alongside, not instead of, professional support for ongoing anxiety or depression. ### Is this CBT worksheets template free? Yes. You can customize this CBT worksheets template for free and download it as a print-ready PDF for your clients or for your own use. ## Related reading - [Lead magnets for therapists and counselors](https://buildpdfs.com/guides/lead-magnet-for-therapists) - [Best AI tools for workbooks and worksheets](https://buildpdfs.com/guides/best-ai-workbook-and-worksheet-makers) - [Workbook vs handout vs slide deck](https://buildpdfs.com/guides/workbook-vs-handout-vs-slide-deck) [Use this template](https://buildpdfs.com/signup?templateId=cbt-worksheets) — free, no credit card required.