The Depression - Self-Monitoring Record worksheet is designed to help clients capture information about situations where they experienced significant feelings of depression.
Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
An editable Microsoft PowerPoint version of the resource.
An editable Microsoft Word version of the resource.
Developing self-monitoring skills teaches clients to systematically observe and record specific targets such as their own thoughts, body feelings, emotions, and behaviors. Though it’s usually introduced early in the therapy process, it can continue to provide an inexpensive and constant measure of problem symptoms and behaviors throughout treatment.
The Depression Self-Monitoring Record aims to support clients in identifying and recording situations in which they experience depressive symptoms. By systematically capturing contextual information—such as triggering events, associated thoughts, behaviors, and mood ratings—this tool can aid clients and therapists in recognizing patterns, clarifying contributing factors, and informing targeted interventions.
This self-monitoring record can help with:
Clients gain insight into how thoughts, emotions, and behaviors contribute to their depression.
Useful for those engaging in repetitive, negative thinking patterns.
Select a single, well-defined target for monitoring.
Clients should document thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations, and behaviors immediately or shortly after they occur.
Review the collected data with clients to identify patterns and triggers.
Use ongoing self-monitoring to inform treatment and monitor progress.
Self-monitoring functions as both an assessment method and an intervention, and is routinely used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It is comprised of two parts. Discrimination consists of identifying and noticing the target phenomena. Recording is the process of documenting occurrences, usually through some kind of written record. Using a record allows clients to self-monitor: to discriminate the target (e.g., a feeling of anxiety), record it (e.g., when it occurred, how long it lasted, where they were and what they were doing), and review it (e.g., how often did it happen in a week, what was common across different episodes).
Self-monitoring is often taught during the assessment stage of therapy. It can be particularly useful when the target phenomenon is covert and cannot be observed by anyone but the clients themselves (Cohen et al, 2013). Examples of covert targets include depressive rumination or self-criticism. During the early stages of therapy, clients may be asked to complete simple self-monitoring tasks, such as noting the frequency of particular behaviors or emotions. This can then develop into more sophisticated records that explore the triggers, thoughts, and consequences linked to specific events. As the intervention progresses, self-monitoring can be used to track adherence (e.g. how often a client uses a new strategy or adaptive coping technique) and the effectiveness of an intervention (e.g. how often the client now experiences problem symptoms, or implements new responses).
This depression-focused self-monitoring record is specifically designed to help therapists and clients better understand the triggers, components, and impact of depressive symptoms.
Therapists benefit from a structured resource that clients find easy to use.
