CBT Thought Record Worksheet Overview
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps us understand how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors all affect each other. Because they are all connected, we can change how we feel if we change how we think.
Use this worksheet to describe a difficult experience and what you thought, felt, and did. Then challenge your thought, write one that is more helpful or true, and explore how you would feel and what you would do as a result of your new interpretation.
This thought record worksheet includes examples to help you understand how to use it, and then a blank page to use for completing the excercise yourself.
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Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. Guilford Press.
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Bennett-Levy, J. (2003). Mechanisms of change in cognitive therapy: The case of automatic thought records and behavioural experiments. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 31(3), 261-277. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465803003035
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Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427-440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-012-9476-1
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NHS. (2025). Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/talking-therapies-medicine-treatments/talking-therapies-and-counselling/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-cbt/overview/
More Thought Record Worksheets
Below you’ll find an additional Thought Record worksheet that therapists can use with their clients.
Thought Record - Blank Template
This is a blank template version of our thought record worksheet with examples and explanations removed.
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