Examining Your Negative Thoughts
An exercise to guide clients through identifying, evaluating, and modifying negative automatic thoughts (NATs) using cognitive restructuring techniques.
Examining Your Negative Thoughts
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) suggests that our thoughts influence how we feel. Some of our thoughts can be biased and unhelpful, which can contribute to emotional difficulties like anxiety and depression.
The Examining Your Negative Thoughts tool helps you look more closely at distressing thoughts. It asks you simple questions about the evidence that supports them, how useful they are, and other important aspects. This can help you develop more balanced and helpful ways of thinking.
Complete this exercise whenever you experience a negative automatic thought (a common sign of this is a sudden change in how you feel) or as your therapist has instructed.
Overview
The Examining Your Negative Thoughts exercise supports cognitive restructuring, a core intervention of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This resource helps clients identify negative automatic thoughts (NATs) and provides a structured approach to evaluate and modify these cognitions. Drawing on Beck’s cognitive model, the exercise guides individuals through the process of evaluating their thoughts from different perspectives to generate balanced and adaptive responses.
Also available as:
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Support therapeutic work between sessions.
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Send the tool securely to your client.
Client completes
Your client works through it on any device, at their own pace.
Review
Review their responses before the next session.
Part of a complete library of evidence-based tools
Worksheets, guides, audio resources and interactive digital tools for mental health professionals.