Resources From PositivePsychology.com
We have many CBT exercises available for therapists wishing to support individuals and groups facing emotional and behavioral challenges.
More extensive versions of the following tools are available with a paid subscription to the Positive Psychology Toolkit©, but they are described briefly below.
- Behavioral Activation
Behavioral activation offers an effective technique for decreasing depressive symptoms by encouraging clients to embrace activities that provide them with experiences of pleasure or a sense of mastery. Try out the following four steps:
- Step one – Log existing activity levels.
- Step two – Categorize each one as energy giving or draining.
- Step three – Identify which activities offer pleasure or a sense of mastery.
- Step four – Find opportunities to engage in more energy-giving activities throughout the week.
- Daily Exceptions Journal
This exercise combines traditional CBT with positive psychology by encouraging clients to focus on what is right, rather than wrong, in their lives.
The technique enables the client and therapist to better understand the problems the client faces and the contexts in which they occur.
Complete a daily exceptions journal by answering a series of questions, including:
What has improved today, even if just a little bit?
What did I do differently to improve things?
When didn’t I experience the problem today?
When was the problem less of a problem?
What could I continue to do to make improvements?
If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others through CBT, this collection contains 17 validated positive CBT tools for practitioners. Use them to help others overcome unhelpful thoughts and feelings and develop more positive behaviors.
A Take-Home Message
Therapists, clients, and researchers confirm the value of CBT for supporting individuals, couples, and families wishing to move away from unhelpful or even harmful feelings and behaviors.
CBT is diverse and evolving. It represents a convergence of behavioral strategies and cognitive processes continually integrating insights from neuroscience, positive psychology, and mindfulness-based interventions to enhance its effectiveness and adaptability.
The ongoing transformation enables CBT to address various mental health challenges while working alongside and complementing other therapeutic approaches (Dobson & Dozois, 2021).
Such versatility and broad applicability mean it is highly valued in various populations, including those facing depression, mood disorders, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and anxiety.
CBT exercises and techniques take many forms and have a range of purposes, including managing stress, replacing unhelpful thoughts, goal setting, boosting performance and self-esteem, and improving resilience (Riggenbach, 2021).
But like other therapies, it has its challenges. Ultimately, the therapeutic alliance is vital. The therapist and client must see the work as a partnership built on trust where open dialogue is essential.
Whether you are a trained cognitive behavioral therapist or other mental health practitioner, it is vital to understand the potentially damaging impact of clients’ unhelpful thoughts. Once recognized, it is possible to bridge theory and practice by designing practical CBT exercises that help clients overcome these unwanted thoughts and make meaningful life improvements.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article. For more information, don’t forget to download our three Positive CBT Exercises for free.
ED: Rewrite Apr 2025
What our readers think
Very well-written, insightful and useful!
Such a valuable resource! The practical CBT techniques and worksheets shared here are incredibly helpful for both practitioners and individuals looking to better understand their thoughts and behaviors. Thanks for putting this together!
Thanks for providing in-depth information on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.
Loved the article. This was very useful, and very much appreciate all the free resources you included. Mahalo!
I am a nurse and a holistic life coach and these resources were very helpful to revise and improve my practice!
This is ridiculous. More ad than content. Misleading title.It is not a free website that you flood the viewers with so many ads. And if you are making so much money through ads then make the entire content free , since it is for the betterment of patients with mental health
Dear Prasun,
We agree, and we are currently looking for another solution as the site experience is suffering too much from this try-out.
Kind regards,
Julia | Community Manager
Thank you for the work put into this amazing article! It encompasses every bit of CBT that is so useful for clients increasing their understanding of how “this” works in a very well-written tone. Well done!
Thank you for the useful material that is free of charge. It will come in handy especially the providers guidebook “activities and your mood” for my client who has been diagnosed with depression.
The subject CBT is well covered with comprehensive suggestions for the candidates. The aspect of voluntary access by the Therapist to the mentally challenged/deppressed people , needs to be stressed upon,as majority won’t open up..
Thnx educating on a high value subject.
It is very informative, keep up the good work