Mechanisms

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help your clients to live happier and more fulfilling lives. Psychology Tools for Living Well is a self-help course ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/a-guide-to-emotions-psychology-tools-for-living-well/

Activity diaries can be used for activity monitoring during an assessment phase of therapy, symptom monitoring during therapy, correlating activity wi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/activity-diary-hourly-time-intervals/

Activity diaries can be used for activity monitoring during an assessment phase of therapy, symptom monitoring during therapy, correlating activity wi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/activity-diary-no-time-intervals/

Disputing thoughts is a critical skill in cognitive therapy. The Anger Thought Monitoring Record helps clients to identify and challenge their angry t ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/anger-thought-challenging-record/

Psychology Tools for Overcoming Panic takes a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach to this common anxiety problem. This chapter discusses avoi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/approach-instead-of-avoiding-psychology-tools-for-overcoming-panic/

Communicating and acting assertively is an interpersonal skill that helps people to maintain healthy relationships, resolve interpersonal conflict, an ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/assertive-communication/

Note: This resource has been superseded by the Fear Ladder exercise. The Avoidance Hierarchy exercise has been archived and will remain available whil ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/avoidance-hierarchy/

Behavioral activation (BA) is an effective treatment for depression. Different behavioral activation protocols include a variety of treatment componen ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-activation-activity-diary/

Behavioral experiments are planned experiential activities to test the validity of a belief. They are one of the most powerful techniques available to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-experiment/

Behavioral experiments allow individuals to test the validity of their beliefs and assumptions. They are a core experiential technique for therapeutic ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/behavioral-experiment-portrait-format/

Cognitive behavioral theory proposes that our thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the here-and-now are influenced by our schemas / core beliefs / assu ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/belief-driven-formulation/

Before thoughts can be examined or challenged they must be ‘caught’ – they must be noticed and distinguished from events and feelings. The Catch ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/catching-your-thoughts-cyp/

The CBT Appraisal Model worksheet is a transdiagnostic formulation tool. The centrality of appraisals underpins all of the disorder-specific cognitive ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cbt-appraisal-model/

A cornerstone of cognitive behavioral therapy is that an individual’s interpretation of an event determines how they feel and behave. We all experie ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/challenging-your-negative-thinking/

Psychologists have discovered interesting relationships between Checking, Certainty, And Doubt. This information handout contains an exercise helpful ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/checking-certainty-and-doubt/

Classical conditioning is a process by which stimuli become associated with responses. This information handout describes key principles of Classical ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/classical-conditioning/

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/

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by restriction of energy intake and intense fear of gaining weight. For women, the lifetime preva ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-anorexia-nervosa-fairburn-cooper-shafran-2003/

Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) experience distress associated with their body image. The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Body Dysmorphi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-body-dysmorphic-disorder-bdd-veale-2004/

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging. Among young women, the point prevalence of bulimia is about 1 ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-bulimia-nervosa-fairburn-cooper-shafran-2003/

People with perfectionism pursue high standards in one or more areas of their life and base their self-worth on their ability to achieve these standar ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-clinical-perfectionism-shafran-cooper-fairburn-2002/

Depersonalization is an experience where an individual feels a sense of detachment from themselves, or estrangement from their perceptions, actions, a ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-depersonalization-hunter-phillips-chalder-sierra-david-2003/

Fear of bodily sensations is present in a number of conditions, most notably panic disorder. The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Fear Of Bodily Sensatio ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-fear-of-body-sensations/

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) report significant worry which they find difficult to control and experience as distressing. Numer ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad-dugas-gagnon-ladouceur-freeston-1998/

Health anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, and a high level of anxiety about health. People with h ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-health-anxiety-salkovskis-warwick-deale-2003/

Insomnia is a highly prevalent sleep disorder characterized by difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or having non-restorative sleep for at leas ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-insomnia-harvey-2002/

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has been defined as “an underlying fear of the unknown”. Intolerance of uncertainty is a risk factor for the deve ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-intolerance-of-uncertainty-hebert-dugas-2019/

Low self-esteem is characterized as a negative sense of the self and co-occurs with many other mental health problems. Although not formally represent ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-low-self-esteem-fennell-1997/

The essential insight of the cognitive behavioral model of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is that it is the client’s interpretation of the intr ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-salkovskis-forrester-richards-1998/

The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Panic identifies catastrophic misinterpretation of body sensations as a criticial maintenance factor which serves to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-panic-clark-1986/

Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a form of dizziness which is thought to be maintained by psychological factors. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-persistent-postural-perceptual-dizziness-pppd-whalley-cane-2017/

People suffering from social anxiety disorder (previously known as social phobia) experience persistent fear or anxiety concerning social or performan ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-social-phobia-clark-wells-1995/

The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Tinnitus identifies cognitive, behavioral, and perceptual changes which operate to maintain tinnitus perception and ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-tinnitus-mckenna-handscombe-hoare-hall-2014/

Core beliefs (schemas) are self-sustaining. They act to ‘attract’ confirmatory evidence and ‘repel’ (or distort) disconfirmato ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/core-belief-magnet-metaphor/

Note: This is an archived resource. A newer version of this resource is available at Thought Record – Courtroom Trial. Thought challenging recor ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/court-trial-thought-challenging-record/

Demanding Standards – Living Well With Your Personal Rules is a guide written for clients who have high or perfectionistic standards which cause th ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/demanding-standards-living-well-with-your-personal-rules/

When individuals with perfectionism successfully meet their demanding standards, these accomplishments are often discounted as “easy to do,” “no ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/discounting-in-perfectionism-the-ratchet-effect/

The Dysfunctional Thought Record is a worksheet to record and challenge dysfunctional thoughts. It encourages clients to identify the involvement of a ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/dysfunctional-thought-record/

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/

Many clients find it helpful to recognize the range of actions that are motivated by different emotional states. This worksheet encourages clients to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/emotions-motivate-actions/

The Evaluating Unhelpful Automatic Thoughts guide is written for clients who struggle with negative automatic thoughts. It provides a comprehensive in ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/evaluating-unhelpful-automatic-thoughts/

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/

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/

The Exposure Session Record is a tool for recording clients’ use of exposure. The worksheet guides clients to identify a specific fear they are will ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/exposure-session-record/

The Facing Your Fears And Phobias guide is written for clients who struggle with fears or phobias. It provides comprehensive information about what fe ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/facing-your-fears-and-phobias/

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/

The Fear Ladder is a tool for exploring and ranking the contexts or situations in which a client experiences fear. It is designed to help the client a ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fear-ladder/

The Fight Or Flight (CYP) information handout has been specifically designed for younger children and includes carefully simplified language. The full ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fight-or-flight-cyp/

The Habituation information sheets are designed to help clinicians to explain the concept of habituation and its role in exposure therapy. The handout ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/habituation/

Health anxiety is characterized by a preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, and a high level of anxiety about health. People with h ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/health-anxiety-formulation/

Individuals with health anxiety experience clinically significant distress associated with health concerns. This thought-challenging record enables cl ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/health-anxiety-thought-record/

Survivors of loss or trauma often think “If only …”. Hindsight Bias is a cognitive bias / cognitive illusion which makes events seem mor ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/hindsight-bias/

Trauma can result in a wide variety of symptoms, experiences, and behaviors. As well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), prevalence rates of oth ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/how-trauma-can-affect-you-cyp/

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/

Interpersonal issues and relationship problems form an important part of what clients bring to therapy: they might present as clients’ current conce ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/interpersonal-beliefs-and-styles/

Uncertainty is a normal part of life – we can never be 100% sure about what will happen next. Many people feel good about uncertainty and live lives ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/intolerance-of-uncertainty/

Intrusive (unwanted, involuntary) memories are a common feature of PTSD, but also depression and other conditions. This Intrusive Memory Record is des ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/intrusive-memory-record/

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/

This free guide was published in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic and is designed for anyone experiencing anxiety or worry. In times ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/living-with-worry-and-anxiety-amidst-global-uncertainty/

Fennell’s cognitive behavioral model of low self-esteem proposes that negative beliefs about the self are maintained by biased information processin ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/low-self-esteem-formulation/

Despite its position as the leading treatment technique for anxiety disorders, not all clients respond to exposure therapy and some individuals relaps ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/maximizing-the-effectiveness-of-exposure-therapy/

An important treatment implication of the cognitive behavioral model of OCD is that clinicians can work at the level of the meaning of the intrusion. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-formulation/

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/

Operant conitioning / instrumental learning is a mechanism by which behaviors can be strengthened or weakened over time. This information handout desc ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/operant-conditioning/

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

The aim of a formulation is to help the client and therapist to come to a shared understanding of what a client is experiencing. The Panic Formulation ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/panic-formulation/

Developing self-monitoring skills teaches clients to systematically observe and record specific targets such as their own thoughts, body feelings, emo ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/perfectionism-self-monitoring-record/

Some cognitive change can happen quickly – for example challenging negative automatic thoughts. Other cognitive structures such as schemas are m ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/positive-belief-record/

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/

The Process-Focused Case Formulation encourages clinicians to make hypotheses regarding mechanisms or processes which they believe may be maintainin ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/process-focused-case-formulation/

The CBT model proposes that how we think affects the way we feel. Challenging our unhelpful thoughts (cognitive restructuring) is an essential skill w ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/prompts-for-challenging-negative-thinking/

Important properties of trauma memories include involuntary recall, ‘nowness’, vividness, and immutability. People who have experienced t ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/properties-of-trauma-memories/

This PTSD Formulation is designed for use in trauma-focused cognitive therapy for PTSD (CT-PTSD): an empirically supported treatment for Post-Traumati ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/ptsd-formulation/

CBT therapists often describe finding it difficult to apply CBT skills when clients bring relational problems to therapy. Familiar methods of visua ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/reciprocal-cbt-formulation/

Anorexia nervosa is characterized the restriction of energy intake, leading to a severely low weight in the context of an individual’s age, sex, and ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/recognizing-anorexia-nervosa/

Bulimia nervosa is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating and compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain. Recognizing Bulimia Nervosa ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/recognizing-bulimia-nervosa/

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is characterized by an extended period of excessive worry. The DSM also emphasizes the importance of the client’s ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/recognizing-generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad/

Self-monitoring of thoughts, feelings, and symptoms is an essential skill in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The Rumination Diary helps clients to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/rumination-diary-archived-version/

Rumination-Focused CBT (RF-CBT) takes a functional-analytic approach to rumination and aims to help depressed clients to identify the contexts in whic ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/rumination-self-monitoring-record-edition-1/

Safety behaviors are actions carried out with the intention of preventing a feared catastrophe. In the short-term they often give a sense of relief, b ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/safety-behaviors/