Thought Record Worksheet

About This Worksheet

Understanding CBT and Automatic Thoughts

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is based on the principle that our thoughts directly influence our emotions. Throughout the day, we experience hundreds of ‘automatic’ thoughts that often pass by unnoticed unless we consciously focus on them. These thoughts generally fall into three categories: positive (triggering joy or excitement), negative (causing sadness or anxiety), or neutral.

Crucially, these thoughts are not always factual; they can be biased. Because of the link between cognition and emotion, biased thinking can fuel mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety. Using a thought record allows you to evaluate the accuracy and utility of these thoughts by systematically questioning them. The Evidence For & Against Thought Record tool provides a structured method to scrutinise the facts surrounding your negative automatic thoughts.

From Harmless Flies To Existential Threat in 10 seconds

Here is an example of how someone who is preoccupied with a fear of being infested by parasites can be triggered by a few fruit flies that have appeared in the kitchen overnight. Notice how, even though the cause was most likely an over-ripe piece of fruit, the person's first automatic thought (that it's an infestation) jumps straight to a worse-case conclusion, which rapidly triggers more catastrophic thinking, resulting in a vicious cycle of hypervigilance, anxiety, stress, and unhelpful OCD behaviours.

Theory A vs Theory B

If you were to apply the Theory A vs Theory B method to the same situation, it might look something like this:

Benefits of using the Thought Record

Recognition: Learn to pinpoint your automatic thoughts as they occur.
Critical Analysis: Practise weighing up evidence rather than accepting every thought as an absolute truth.
Perspective: Formulate more balanced and constructive outlooks on life events.
Bias Correction: Identify and rectify unhelpful patterns in your thinking.

How to Implement the Process

It is advisable to work through at least one record with your therapist before attempting them independently.

Once you are comfortable with the method, complete a record whenever you notice a distressing automatic thought. The tool is divided into specific sections:

Situation: Note what was occurring just before your mood shifted.
Emotion or Feeling: Identify your emotional and physical sensations, rating their intensity.
Automatic Thought: Record the specific words or images that crossed your mind. Select the most impactful thought (the one causing the most distress) to analyse.
Evidence For: List objective facts that support the thought.
Evidence Against: List objective facts that suggest the thought may be inaccurate or incomplete.
Outcome/Response: Re-evaluate the situation. Based on all the evidence, is there a more balanced alternative perspective?

Helpful Tips for Success

Timeliness: Aim to complete the record immediately after the thought occurs while the details are fresh.
Persistence: Thought records are a skill; they become more intuitive and beneficial with regular practice.

If you find it difficult to identify evidence against a thought, try these ‘shifting’ techniques:

Point of View: What advice or perspective would you offer a friend in this exact position?
Time: When you look back on this moment in a year’s time, will your view have changed?
Mood: On days when you feel more positive, how do you usually interpret situations like this?

Before completing your own worksheet, take a look at the filled in example below, courtesy of Psychology Tools.

Thought Record Worksheet

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

A structured tool to help you identify, examine, and challenge unhelpful automatic thoughts. By slowing down your thinking and looking at the evidence, you can begin to develop more balanced, compassionate perspectives — and reduce the emotional distress that unhelpful thought patterns can cause.

🧠 Identify

Recognise the automatic thought and the situation that triggered it

🔍 Examine

Look at the evidence for and against the thought objectively

⚖️ Challenge

Develop a more balanced, helpful alternative perspective

🌿 Reflect

Notice how your emotions and mood shift after reframing

How to Use This Worksheet

Work through each step in order, taking your time with each section. There are no right or wrong answers — this is a private space for honest self-reflection. Your therapist may review this with you, or you may complete it independently between sessions.

Describe the Situation

Write down the specific event, memory, or trigger. Stick to the facts — where were you, what happened, who was there? Keep this section neutral and descriptive, without interpretation.

Identify Your Emotions

Name the emotions you felt (e.g. anxious, ashamed, angry, sad). Rate the intensity of each emotion from 0–100%. It is helpful to list several emotions — they often overlap.

Spot the Automatic Thought

What thoughts went through your mind? What did the situation mean to you about yourself, others, or the future? Circle the hot thought — the one that felt most distressing.

Examine the Evidence

List evidence that supports the hot thought, then evidence that does not support it. Try to be a fair witness to yourself — as if you were examining a friend's situation.

Develop a Balanced Thought

Based on all the evidence, write a more balanced alternative. This is not about positive thinking — it is about accurate, compassionate thinking. Rate how much you believe it (0–100%).

Re-rate Your Emotions

Return to the emotions you listed in Step 2. Re-rate their intensity now (0–100%). Notice any shifts — even small changes are meaningful and worth acknowledging.

💡 Reflection Prompts: What would you say to a close friend in this situation? Is there another way to interpret what happened? What thinking patterns do you notice (e.g. catastrophising, mind-reading, all-or-nothing thinking)?

My Thought Record

Complete This Section In Your Own Time

Use the spaces below to work through a recent situation that caused you distress. Take your time — there is no need to rush. You may wish to complete this during or after a difficult moment, or revisit it with your therapist.

Step 1 — The Situation

What happened? When and where did it occur? Who else was involved?

Step 2 — Emotions & Intensity

What emotions did you feel? Rate each from 0–100%.

Emotion: Intensity: %

Step 3 — Automatic Thoughts

What thoughts went through your mind? Identify the "hot thought."

Step 4a — Evidence Supporting the Thought

What facts support this thought?

•

Step 4b — Evidence Against the Thought

What facts challenge or contradict this thought?

•

Step 5 — Balanced Alternative Thought

Based on the evidence, what is a more balanced way to view this situation?

How much do you believe this balanced thought? %

Step 6 — Re-rate Your Emotions

Return to Step 2 and re-rate each emotion now.

Emotion: New Intensity: %

Step 7 — What Did You Notice?

What did you learn from completing this record? What would you do or think differently next time?

🌿 Remember: Completing a thought record takes practice. If it feels difficult at first, that is completely normal. Each time you use this tool, you are strengthening your ability to step back from unhelpful thoughts and respond to yourself with greater kindness and clarity. Well done for taking this step.

Thought Record Worksheet

About This Worksheet

Understanding CBT and Automatic Thoughts

From Harmless Flies To Existential Threat in 10 seconds

Theory A vs Theory B

Benefits of using the Thought Record

How to Implement the Process

Helpful Tips for Success

Before completing your own worksheet, take a look at the filled in example below, courtesy of Psychology Tools.

Thought Record Worksheet

🧠 Identify

🔍 Examine

⚖️ Challenge

🌿 Reflect

How to Use This Worksheet

Describe the Situation

Identify Your Emotions

Spot the Automatic Thought

Examine the Evidence

Develop a Balanced Thought

Re-rate Your Emotions

My Thought Record

Step 1 — The Situation

Step 2 — Emotions & Intensity

Step 3 — Automatic Thoughts

Step 4a — Evidence Supporting the Thought

Step 4b — Evidence Against the Thought

Step 5 — Balanced Alternative Thought

Step 6 — Re-rate Your Emotions

Step 7 — What Did You Notice?

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