About this resource
Testing a belief in real life is often more convincing than talking about it. This planner helps clients state a specific prediction, rate how strongly they believe it, design an experiment, plan to drop safety behaviours, record what actually happened and reflect on what they learned.
Purpose
To help clients gather real-world evidence about their predictions and beliefs.
Who it is for
Primary profession: Psychologists. Also relevant for counsellors and therapists.
Client or participant group: Adolescents and adults in CBT-informed treatment for anxiety, low mood or unhelpful beliefs.
Practice setting: Planned in psychology sessions and carried out between sessions.
Suggested uses
- Testing anxious predictions
- Challenging unhelpful beliefs
- Reducing safety behaviours
- Building confidence through action
Instructions for practitioners
- Help the client make the prediction specific and testable.
- Design an experiment that is challenging but achievable.
- Plan to reduce safety behaviours during the experiment.
- Review the result together, whatever happens.
- Link learning to the formulation and next experiment.
Instructions for clients or participants
- Write your prediction and rate how much you believe it.
- Plan the experiment.
- Do it, then write what happened.
- Rate your belief again.
Accessibility considerations
Can be completed verbally or with visual ratings.
Scope and limitations
An educational CBT-informed worksheet for use within treatment. It is not a substitute for a treatment plan, and experiments should be planned with a psychologist.
Research basis
Behavioural experiments test predictions in real life and are an established cognitive therapy method. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has a strong research base for anxiety, depression and many related problems; this resource uses CBT techniques to support, not replace, a structured treatment plan.
- Beck, J. S. (2021). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
- Bennett-Levy, J., Butler, G., Fennell, M., Hackmann, A., Mueller, M., & Westbrook, D. (2004). Oxford guide to behavioural experiments in cognitive therapy. Oxford University Press.
- 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
What is included
A 3-page printable A4 PDF, including a practitioner notes page with the research basis (version 1.0).
Originality
Original Practitioner Plus content: wording, activity structure, layout and icons were created for this resource. No third-party worksheets, illustrations or text were reproduced. Reflects the established use of behavioural experiments in cognitive behavioural therapy.
