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Assigning Homework in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

It’s certainly true that therapy outcomes depend in part on the work taking place in each session. But for this progress to reach its full impact, clients need to use what they learn in therapy during their daily lives. 

Assigning therapy “homework” can help your clients practice new skills during the week. While many types of therapy may involve some form of weekly assignment, homework is a key component of cognitive behavior therapy. 

Types of Homework

Some clients may respond well to any type of homework, while others may struggle to complete or find benefit in certain assignments. It’s important for clients to step outside of their comfort zone in some ways. For example, it’s essential to learn to challenge unwanted thoughts and increase understanding of feelings and emotions, especially for people who struggle with emotional expression. 

But there isn’t just one way to achieve these goals. Finding the right type of homework for each client can make success more likely. 

There are many different types of therapy homework. Asking your client to practice breathing exercises when they feel anxious or stressed? That’s homework. Journaling about distressing thoughts and ways to challenge them, or keeping track of cognitive distortions ? Also homework.

Some clients may do well with different assignments each week, while others may have harder times with certain types of homework. For example:

• An artistic client may not get much from written exercises. They might, however, prefer to sketch or otherwise illustrate their mood, feelings, or reactions during the week. 
• Clients who struggle with or dislike reading may feel challenged by even plain-language articles. If you plan to assign educational materials, ask in your first session whether your client prefers audio or written media. 

When you give the assignment, take a few minutes to go over it with your client. Give an example of how to complete it and make sure they understand the process. You’ll also want to explain the purpose of the assignment. Someone who doesn’t see the point of a task may be less likely to put real effort into it. If you give a self-assessment worksheet early in the therapy process, you might say, “It can help to have a clear picture of where you believe you’re at right now. Later in therapy I’ll ask you to complete another assessment and we can compare the two to review what’s changed.” 

Mental Health Apps

Some people may also find apps a useful way to develop and practice emotional wellness coping skills outside of therapy. Therapy apps can help people track their moods, emotions, or other mental health symptoms. They can provide a platform to practice CBT or other therapy skills. They can also offer structured mindfulness meditations or help clients practice other grounding techniques. 

If you’re working with a client who’s interested in therapy apps, you might try using them in treatment. Just keep in mind that not all apps offer the same benefits. Some may have limitations, such as clunky or confusing interfaces and potential privacy concerns. It’s usually a good idea to check whether there’s any research providing support for—or against—a specific app before recommending it to a client. 

Trusted mental health sources, such as the American Psychological Association or Anxiety and Depression Association of America websites, may list some popular mental health apps, though they may not specifically endorse them. These resources can be a good starting place. Other organizations, including Northwestern University’s Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies and the Defense Department of the United States, have developed their own research-backed mental health apps. 

You can also review apps yourself. Try out scenarios or options within the app to get to know how the app works and whether it might meet your client’s needs. This will put you in a position to answer their questions and help give them tips on getting the most out of the app. 

Benefits of Homework

Some of your clients may wonder why you’re assigning homework. After all, they signed up for therapy, not school. 

When clients ask about the benefits of therapy homework, you can point out how it provides an opportunity to put things learned in session into practice outside the therapy session. This helps people get used to using the new skills in their toolbox to work through issues that come up for them in their daily lives. More importantly, it teaches them they can use these skills on their own, when a therapist or other support person isn’t actively providing coaching or encouragement. This knowledge is an important aspect of therapy success. 

A 2010 review of 23 studies on homework in therapy found evidence to suggest that clients who completed therapy homework generally had better treatment outcomes. This review did have some limitations, such as not considering the therapeutic relationship or how clients felt about homework. But other research supports these findings, leading many mental health experts to support the use of therapy homework, particularly in CBT. Homework can be one of many effective tools in making therapy more successful. 

Improving Homework Compliance

You may eventually work with a client who shows little interest in homework and doesn’t complete the assignments. You know this could impede their progress in therapy, so you’ll probably want to bring this up in session and ask why they’re having difficulty with the homework. You can also try varying the types of homework you assign or asking if your client is interested in trying out a mental health app that can offer similar benefits outside your weekly sessions. 

When you ask a client about homework non-compliance, it’s important to do it in a way that doesn’t anger them, make them feel defensive, or otherwise damage the relationship you’re working to develop. Here are some tips for having this conversation:

• Let them know homework helps them practice their skills outside of therapy. In short, it’s helping them get more out of therapy (more value for their money) and may lead to more improvement, sometimes in a shorter period of time than one weekly session would alone. 
• Bring up the possibility of other types of homework. “If you don’t want to write anything down, would you want to try listening to a guided meditation or tips to help manage upsetting emotions?” 
• Ask about it, in a non-confrontational way. You might say something like, “Is something making it difficult for you to complete the homework assignments? How can I help make the process easier for you?” 

The prospect of homework in therapy may surprise some clients, but for many people, it’s an essential element of success. Those put off by the term “homework” may view “skills practice” or similar phrasing more favorably, so don’t feel afraid to call it something else. The important part is the work itself, not what you call it.    References:

• Ackerman, C. (2017, March 20). 25 CBT techniques and worksheets for cognitive behavioral therapy. Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/cbt-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-techniques-worksheets
• ADAA reviewed mental health apps. (n.d.). Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Retrieved from https://adaa.org/finding-help/mobile-apps
• Mausbach, B. T., Moore, R., Roesch, S., Cardenas, V., & Patterson, T. L. (2010). The relationship between homework compliance and therapy outcomes: An updated meta-analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34 (5), 429-438. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2939342
• Mental health apps. (n.d.). The American Institute of Stress. Retrieved from https://www.stress.org/mental-health-apps
• Novotney, A. (2016). Should you use an app to help that client? Monitor on Psychology, 47 (10), 64. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2016/11/client-app
• Tang, W, & Kreindler, D. (2017). Supporting homework compliance in cognitive behavioural therapy: Essential features of mobile apps. JMIR Mental Health, 4(2). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5481663

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What Is Therapy Homework?

Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

Dr. Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and a professor at Yeshiva University’s clinical psychology doctoral program.

Astrakan Images / Getty Images

Types of Therapy That Involve Homework

If you’ve recently started going to therapy , you may find yourself being assigned therapy homework. You may wonder what exactly it entails and what purpose it serves. Therapy homework comprises tasks or assignments that your therapist asks you to complete between sessions, says Nicole Erkfitz , DSW, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker and executive director at AMFM Healthcare, Virginia.

Homework can be given in any form of therapy, and it may come as a worksheet, a task to complete, or a thought/piece of knowledge you are requested to keep with you throughout the week, Dr. Erkfitz explains.

This article explores the role of homework in certain forms of therapy, the benefits therapy homework can offer, and some tips to help you comply with your homework assignments.

Therapy homework can be assigned as part of any type of therapy. However, some therapists and forms of therapy may utilize it more than others.

For instance, a 2019-study notes that therapy homework is an integral part of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) . According to Dr. Erkfitz, therapy homework is built into the protocol and framework of CBT, as well as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) , which is a sub-type of CBT.

Therefore, if you’re seeing a therapist who practices CBT or DBT, chances are you’ll regularly have homework to do.

On the other hand, an example of a type of therapy that doesn’t generally involve homework is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. EMDR is a type of therapy that generally relies on the relationship between the therapist and client during sessions and is a modality that specifically doesn’t rely on homework, says Dr. Erkfitz.

However, she explains that if the client is feeling rejuvenated and well after their processing session, for instance, their therapist may ask them to write down a list of times that their positive cognition came up for them over the next week.

"Regardless of the type of therapy, the best kind of homework is when you don’t even realize you were assigned homework," says Erkfitz.

Benefits of Therapy Homework

Below, Dr. Erkfitz explains the benefits of therapy homework.

It Helps Your Therapist Review Your Progress

The most important part of therapy homework is the follow-up discussion at the next session. The time you spend reviewing with your therapist how the past week went, if you completed your homework, or if you didn’t and why, gives your therapist valuable feedback on your progress and insight on how they can better support you.

It Gives Your Therapist More Insight

Therapy can be tricky because by the time you are committed to showing up and putting in the work, you are already bringing a better and stronger version of yourself than what you have been experiencing in your day-to-day life that led you to seek therapy.

Homework gives your therapist an inside look into your day-to-day life, which can sometimes be hard to recap in a session. Certain homework assignments keep you thinking throughout the week about what you want to share during your sessions, giving your therapist historical data to review and address.

It Helps Empower You

The sense of empowerment you can gain from utilizing your new skills, setting new boundaries , and redirecting your own cognitive distortions is something a therapist can’t give you in the therapy session. This is something you give yourself. Therapy homework is how you come to the realization that you got this and that you can do it.

"The main benefit of therapy homework is that it builds your skills as well as the understanding that you can do this on your own," says Erkfitz.

Tips for Your Therapy Homework

Below, Dr. Erkfitz shares some tips that can help with therapy homework:

• Set aside time for your homework: Create a designated time to complete your therapy homework. The aim of therapy homework is to keep you thinking and working on your goals between sessions. Use your designated time as a sacred space to invest in yourself and pour your thoughts and emotions into your homework, just as you would in a therapy session .
• Be honest: As therapists, we are not looking for you to write down what you think we want to read or what you think you should write down. It’s important to be honest with us, and yourself, about what you are truly feeling and thinking.
• Practice your skills: Completing the worksheet or log are important, but you also have to be willing to put your skills and learnings into practice. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and open to trying new things so that you can report back to your therapist about whether what you’re trying is working for you or not.
• Remember that it’s intended to help you: Therapy homework helps you maximize the benefits of therapy and get the most value out of the process. A 2013-study notes that better homework compliance is linked to better treatment outcomes.
• Talk to your therapist if you’re struggling: Therapy homework shouldn’t feel like work. If you find that you’re doing homework as a monotonous task, talk to your therapist and let them know that your heart isn’t in it and that you’re not finding it beneficial. They can explain the importance of the tasks to you, tailor your assignments to your preferences, or change their course of treatment if need be.

"When the therapy homework starts 'hitting home' for you, that’s when you know you’re on the right track and doing the work you need to be doing," says Erkfitz.

A Word From Verywell

Similar to how school involves classwork and homework, therapy can also involve in-person sessions and homework assignments.

If your therapist has assigned you homework, try to make time to do it. Completing it honestly can help you and your therapist gain insights into your emotional processes and overall progress. Most importantly, it can help you develop coping skills and practice them, which can boost your confidence, empower you, and make your therapeutic process more effective.

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Conklin LR, Strunk DR, Cooper AA. Therapist behaviors as predictors of immediate homework engagement in cognitive therapy for depression . Cognit Ther Res . 2018;42(1):16-23. doi:10.1007/s10608-017-9873-6

Lebeau RT, Davies CD, Culver NC, Craske MG. Homework compliance counts in cognitive-behavioral therapy . Cogn Behav Ther . 2013;42(3):171-179. doi:10.1080/16506073.2013.763286

By Sanjana Gupta Sanjana is a health writer and editor. Her work spans various health-related topics, including mental health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

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IResearchNet

Homework Assignments

Homework assignments are tasks that clients in counseling and psychotherapy work on between treatment sessions. Examples include having a depressed client do one rewarding activity a day, having a couple practice active listening skills between sessions, asking a Navajo client exploring career options to talk to an elder on the topic, having an anxious client practice progressive relaxation techniques, and asking clients to write down their dreams for later processing.

Homework Assignments Relevance

Homework is considered an important component in most behavioral, cognitive, systems, and solution-focused therapies. Practitioners of those methods assign homework with the greatest frequency, but most practitioners, regardless of theoretical perspective, employ home assignments at times. A panel of psychotherapy experts recently rated homework assignments as the intervention most likely to be used more frequently in future years. The economic pressures of managed care have helped spur the use of briefer forms of therapies, and homework has become a cost-effective way of increasing the impact of limited treatment time. Between-session activities have now been proposed by some theorists to be a common factor in the success of all brief therapies.

Purpose and Benefits of Homework Assignments

By using the intervals between sessions, homework assignments increase the time clients spend engaging in activities designed to speed their recovery. Homework allows the generalization and transfer of in-session treatment gains through the use of in-vivo practice in natural settings. Clients doing home tasks can acquire insight and skills, and are more likely to view themselves as change agents rather than as passive recipients of therapy. Many counselors and therapists assess homework compliance in evaluating both treatment progress and the strength of the working alliance. Successful homework is theorized to increase a client’s sense of mastery, self-efficacy, and optimism about treatment success. The skill-building approach of home activities reflects the goals of positive psychology models.

Homework Assignments History and Research

Recommendations for assigned tasks outside the therapy hour began appearing in the literature in the 1940s and 1950s. Theoretical and empirical attention to homework activities has largely paralleled the growth in popularity of cognitive and behavioral models of counseling and psychotherapy. Reflecting the pragmatic nature of homework itself, earlier writings often focused on practitioner recommendations, and became available in published workbooks and manuals. Empirical research has demonstrated that adherence to homework assignments is one of the predictors of successful treatment outcome, and that clients who do the most homework benefit the most in treatment.

Preliminary studies suggest that homework is more often completed when tasks are specific, rehearsed in session, and matched to client strengths, motivation level, and treatment goals. Clients may comply more when they have choices of tasks, and when therapists write down the assignment and review it in the next session. Issues presently being investigated by psychologists include these and other factors influencing client compliance with assignments, the reliability of measures of homework quality and compliance, and factors in the process of assigning homework that make it most effective.

References:

• Kazantzis, N., Deane, F. P., & Ronan, K. R. (2004). Assessing compliance with homework assignments: Review and recommendations for clinical practice. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 627-641.
• Scheel, M. J., Hanson, W. E., & Razzhavaikina, T. I. (2004). The process of recommending homework in psychotherapy: A review of therapist delivery methods, client acceptability, and factors that affect compliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 41, 38-55.
• Counseling Therapy

• Last edited on September 9, 2020

Homework in CBT

Table of contents, why do homework in cbt, how to deliver homework, strategies to increase confidence.

Homework assignments in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can help your patients educate themselves further, collect thoughts, and modify their thinking.

Homework is not something that you just assign randomly. You should make sure you:

• tailor the homework to the patient
• provide a rationale for why the patient needs to do the homework
• uncover any obstacles that might prevent homework from being done (i.e. - busy work schedule, significant neurovegetative symptoms)

Types of homework

Types of homework assignments.

You should also decide the frequency of the homework should be assigned: should it be daily, weekly?

If your patient does not do homework, that’s OK! Explore as a team, in a non-judgmental way, to explore why the homework was not done. Here are some ways to increase adherence to homework:

• Tailor the assignments to the individual
• Provide a rationale for how and why the assignment might help
• Determine the homework collaboratively
• Try to start the homework during the session. This creates some momentum to continue doing the homework
• Set up systems to remember to do the assignments (phone reminders, sticky notes
• It is better to start with easier homework assignments and err on the side of caution
• They should be 90-100% confident they will be able to do this assignment
• Covert rehearsal - running through a thought experiment on a situation
• Change the assignment - It is far better to substitute an easier homework assignment that patients are likely to do than to have them establish a habit of not doing what they had agreed to in session
• Intellectual/emotional role play - “I’ll be the intellectual part of you; you be the emotional part. You argue as hard as you can against me so I can see all the arguments you’re using not to read your coping cards and start studying. You start.”

Empowering Recovery: Transformative Therapy Homework Assignments

The power of therapy homework.

Therapy homework is an integral part of the therapeutic process that extends the benefits of therapy beyond the therapy room. It involves assignments and activities that clients are encouraged to complete between therapy sessions to facilitate healing, growth, and recovery. By actively engaging in therapy homework, individuals can take ownership of their progress and empower themselves on their journey towards well-being.

What is Therapy Homework?

Therapy homework refers to the tasks, exercises, and activities assigned by therapists to their clients with the aim of reinforcing and extending the benefits of therapy. These assignments are tailored to address specific therapeutic goals and objectives, focusing on areas such as self-reflection, skill-building, and behavioral changes. Therapy homework can take various forms, including journaling, self-reflection exercises, mindfulness practices, and behavioral experiments.

Therapy homework serves as a bridge between therapy sessions, allowing individuals to apply the insights gained in therapy to their daily lives. It encourages active participation and engagement in the therapeutic process, enabling clients to develop a deeper understanding of themselves, their emotions, and their thought patterns. Through regular completion of therapy homework, individuals can cultivate new coping strategies, enhance self-awareness, and promote personal growth.

How Therapy Homework Can Support Recovery

Therapy homework plays a crucial role in supporting recovery by reinforcing the therapeutic work done during sessions. Here are some ways in which therapy homework can contribute to the recovery process:

• Continuity of Learning:  Therapy homework provides a continuous learning experience, allowing clients to build upon the insights gained during therapy sessions. It helps reinforce new skills, coping strategies, and perspectives, facilitating lasting change and growth.
• Application of Skills:  By engaging in therapy homework, individuals have the opportunity to apply the skills and techniques learned in therapy to real-life situations. This practical application helps strengthen and solidify new behaviors and thought patterns.
• Increased Self-Awareness:  Therapy homework encourages self-reflection and introspection, fostering a deeper understanding of one’s emotions, behaviors, and patterns of thinking. This increased self-awareness can lead to greater insight and personal growth.
• Empowerment:  Active participation in therapy homework empowers individuals to take charge of their own healing process. It allows them to be proactive in their recovery journey, develop a sense of agency, and take ownership of their progress.
• Consolidation of Progress:  Regular completion of therapy homework reinforces the progress made in therapy sessions. It helps maintain momentum, prevents relapse, and supports long-term recovery.

Therapy homework is a collaborative process between the therapist and the client. It involves setting realistic goals, tailoring assignments to suit individual preferences and needs, and providing ongoing support and feedback. By embracing therapy homework, individuals can enhance their therapeutic experience, accelerate their progress, and empower themselves on their path to recovery . To explore specific examples of therapy homework assignments, check out our articles on  therapy homework for anxiety  and  therapy homework for depression .

Types of Therapy Homework Assignments

Therapy homework assignments play a vital role in supporting the therapeutic process and helping individuals make progress towards their goals. There are several types of therapy homework assignments that therapists can assign to their clients. Here, we will explore three common types:  journaling and self-reflection exercises ,  behavioral and habit-forming assignments , and  mindfulness and meditation practices .

Journaling and Self-Reflection Exercises

Journaling and self-reflection exercises are powerful tools for promoting self-awareness and personal growth. Through the act of writing, individuals can explore their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a structured manner. Journaling can help individuals gain insights into their patterns of thinking, identify triggers, and reflect on their progress.

Therapists may assign specific journaling prompts or provide worksheets to guide clients in their self-reflection journey. These exercises can focus on various topics, such as exploring emotions, identifying cognitive distortions, practicing gratitude, or tracking behaviors. Journaling can also be used as a platform for  therapy homework for self-expression  and  therapy homework for creativity .

Behavioral and Habit-Forming Assignments

Behavioral and habit-forming assignments are designed to help individuals make positive changes in their behavior and develop healthier habits. These assignments are often action-oriented and require individuals to practice new skills or engage in specific activities outside of therapy sessions.

For example, a therapist may assign tasks related to assertiveness training, stress management techniques, anger management strategies, or goal setting exercises. These assignments encourage individuals to actively apply the concepts discussed in therapy to their daily lives. By practicing new behaviors and breaking old patterns, individuals can work towards their therapeutic goals.

Mindfulness and Meditation Practices

Mindfulness and meditation practices are widely recognized for their ability to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and increase self-awareness. Therapists may assign mindfulness exercises and meditation practices as part of therapy homework to help individuals cultivate mindfulness in their daily lives.

These assignments can include guided meditations, breathing exercises, body scans, or mindful awareness activities. By incorporating mindfulness into their routine, individuals can learn to observe their thoughts and emotions without judgment, cultivate present-moment awareness, and develop a greater sense of calm and clarity.

By incorporating a variety of therapy homework assignments, therapists can cater to the unique needs of each individual and provide a well-rounded approach to therapy. It’s important for therapists to assess client goals and preferences when assigning homework, ensuring that the assignments are relevant, engaging, and align with the client’s therapeutic journey. For more therapy homework ideas, check out our article on  therapy homework ideas .

Customizing Assignments for Individual Needs

To ensure the effectiveness of therapy homework assignments, it is essential to  customize  them according to the  individual needs  of each client. This personalized approach allows therapists to address specific goals and objectives, tailoring the assignments to suit the client’s preferences and circumstances.

Assessing Client Goals and Objectives

Before creating therapy homework assignments, therapists must first  assess  their clients’ goals and objectives. By understanding what clients hope to achieve through therapy, therapists can design assignments that align with their desired outcomes. For example, if a client’s goal is to improve their communication skills, therapy homework assignments may focus on practicing active listening, assertiveness, or conflict resolution. By linking the assignments directly to the client’s goals, the therapeutic process becomes more targeted and effective.

Tailoring Assignments to Suit Individual Preferences

Each client is unique, and their preferences and learning styles should be taken into consideration when designing therapy homework assignments. Some clients may prefer written exercises and journaling, while others may be more receptive to artistic or creative expression . By tailoring the assignments to suit individual preferences, therapists can increase engagement and motivation, leading to a more productive therapeutic experience.

For example, a client who enjoys writing may find value in self-reflection exercises or the use of  writing and narrative therapy techniques . On the other hand, a client who is more visually oriented might benefit from artistic assignments or creative expression through art therapy. By incorporating activities that resonate with the client’s preferences, therapy homework becomes more enjoyable and meaningful.

By customizing therapy homework assignments, therapists can optimize the therapeutic process and enhance client outcomes. It ensures that assignments are directly aligned with the client’s goals and objectives, promoting a sense of ownership and motivation in their recovery journey. Additionally, tailoring assignments to suit individual preferences increases engagement and enjoyment, fostering a positive therapeutic alliance.

Remember to explore a variety of therapy homework ideas to meet the diverse needs of your clients. Whether it’s therapy homework for self-esteem, mindfulness, relaxation, or any other topic, the key is to create assignments that are relevant, meaningful, and effective. By providing personalized and tailored assignments, therapists can empower their clients in their recovery process.

Incorporating Creativity in Therapy Assignments

To enhance the therapeutic process and encourage self-expression, incorporating  creativity  into therapy assignments can be highly beneficial. Creative activities provide clients with a unique outlet for exploring their emotions, thoughts, and experiences. In this section, we will explore two popular approaches:  art therapy and creative expression  as well as  writing and narrative therapy techniques .

Art Therapy and Creative Expression

Art therapy involves using various artistic mediums to facilitate self-expression, reflection, and healing. Through painting, drawing, sculpting, or collage-making, clients can tap into their creativity and communicate their inner world visually. Art therapy can be particularly effective for individuals who struggle with verbal expression or find it challenging to articulate their emotions.

Engaging in art therapy allows clients to explore their thoughts and feelings in a non-threatening and non-judgmental manner. The creative process itself can be therapeutic, providing a sense of control, empowerment, and catharsis. Art therapists often guide clients in interpreting their artwork, helping them uncover deeper insights and gain a better understanding of themselves.

Integrating creative expression into therapy assignments can offer clients an opportunity to engage with their emotions in a different way. For example, a therapist might suggest creating a collage that represents their goals, dreams, or emotions. This visual representation can serve as a powerful tool for self-reflection and exploration. To learn more about incorporating art therapy into your practice, explore our article on  therapy homework for creative expression .

Writing and Narrative Therapy Techniques

Writing can be a powerful therapeutic tool that allows clients to explore their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Narrative therapy techniques, such as journaling, letter writing, or storytelling, can help clients gain insight, process challenging events, and reframe their narratives.

Journaling is a widely used form of therapy homework that involves writing down thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a journal or diary. This practice provides an opportunity for self-reflection, self-expression, and problem-solving. Clients can explore their innermost thoughts, identify patterns, and track progress over time. To discover various journaling exercises for therapy, refer to our article on  therapy homework for journaling .

Another approach is letter writing, where clients address letters to themselves, others, or even abstract concepts like their fears or past traumas. This process can be cathartic and empowering, allowing clients to express emotions that may be difficult to articulate in person. Writing a letter can help clients gain closure, find forgiveness , or express gratitude. It provides a safe space for processing emotions and can be revisited as a source of reflection and growth.

By incorporating these creative techniques into therapy assignments, therapists can encourage clients to explore their inner worlds and gain new perspectives. It’s important to remember that creativity is a personal experience, and different clients may resonate with different forms of expression. As a therapist, offering a range of options and tailoring assignments to suit individual preferences can enhance the therapeutic process.

Maximizing the Benefits of Therapy Homework

To ensure the effectiveness of  therapy homework assignments , it’s important to implement strategies that maximize their benefits. By setting realistic expectations, providing ongoing support and feedback, and fostering collaboration between the therapist and client, therapy homework can become a powerful tool for transformation and growth.

Setting Realistic Expectations

When assigning therapy homework, it’s crucial to set realistic expectations for the client. This involves discussing the purpose, goals, and anticipated outcomes of the assignments. By clearly communicating the objectives and potential benefits, clients can better understand the value of their efforts and remain motivated throughout the process.

It’s important to emphasize that therapy homework is not a quick fix but rather a gradual process. Encourage clients to approach their assignments with patience and self-compassion , understanding that progress takes time. By managing expectations, clients are more likely to stay committed and experience the full benefits of therapy homework.

Providing Ongoing Support and Feedback

Support and feedback from the therapist play a crucial role in maximizing the benefits of therapy homework. Regular check-ins and discussions about the assignments allow clients to seek clarification, express concerns, and receive guidance. This ongoing support helps clients stay engaged and motivated, knowing that their therapist is there to provide assistance and encouragement.

Additionally, providing constructive feedback on completed assignments is essential for growth and improvement. Acknowledge the effort and progress made by the client, while also providing suggestions and insights to enhance their understanding and application of the concepts discussed in therapy. This feedback loop strengthens the therapeutic relationship and boosts the client’s confidence in their ability to succeed.

Collaboration Between Therapist and Client

Collaboration between the therapist and client is key to optimizing the benefits of therapy homework . By involving the client in the assignment selection process, therapists can tailor the tasks to suit the client’s individual needs, preferences, and therapeutic goals. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment, motivating clients to actively engage in their recovery journey.

Regular communication between therapy sessions is crucial for maintaining this collaboration. Clients should feel comfortable reaching out to their therapist for guidance, clarification, or support related to their assignments. This open line of communication ensures that the therapy homework remains aligned with the client’s evolving needs and allows for adjustments when necessary.

By setting realistic expectations, providing ongoing support and feedback, and fostering collaboration, therapists can help clients maximize the benefits of therapy homework. This approach not only enhances the effectiveness of the assignments but also empowers clients to take an active role in their own recovery journey. To explore a wide range of therapy homework ideas and resources, visit our article on  therapy homework ideas .

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Handbook of Homework Assignments in Psychotherapy

Research, Practice, and Prevention

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• Nikolaos Kazantzis 0 ,
• Luciano LĽAbate (Professor Emeritus of Psychology) 1

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Shows clearly that between-session activities are a core component of psychotherapy practice

Covers a wide range of psychotherapy approaches, illustrating each with clinical examples

Includes valuable coverage of complex and chronic disorders

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A Commentary on the Science and Practice of Homework in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Factors associated with assignment of therapeutic homework in a large public children’s mental health system.

A Comprehensive Model of Homework in Cognitive Behavior Therapy

• Psychotherapie
• personality
• rehabilitation

Table of contents (26 chapters)

Front matter, brief behavioral marital therapy, introduction and historical overview.

• Nikolaos Kazantzis, Luciano LĽAbate

Psychotherapy Approaches

Behavior therapy.

• Deborah Roth Ledley, Jonathan D. Huppert

Client-Centered Therapy

• Marjorie C. Witty

Cognitive Therapy

• Judith S. Beck, Michael A. Tompkins

Emotion-Focused Experiential Therapy

• Jennifer A. Ellison, Leslie S. Greenberg

Interpersonal Psychotherapy

• Jami F. Young, Laura Mufson

Psychodynamic Therapy

• George Stricker

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

• Michael P. Twohig, Heather M. Pierson, Steven C. Hayes

Brief Strategic Family Therapy

• Michael S. Robbins, Jose’ Szapocznik, Gonzalo A. Pe’rez

Personal Construct Therapy

• Robert A. Neimeyer, David A. Winter

Client Populations

Older adults.

• Helen M. De Vries
• Norman B. Epstein, Donald H. Baucom
• Kathleen Newcomb Rekart, Jay Lebow

Specific Problems

Borderline personality disorder.

• Noam Lindenboim, Alex L. Chapman, Marsha M. Linehan

Chronic Depression

• Lawrence P. Riso, Michael E. Thase

Chronic Pain

• Malcolm H. Johnson

Editors and Affiliations

Nikolaos Kazantzis

Luciano LĽAbate

About the editors

Bibliographic information.

Book Title : Handbook of Homework Assignments in Psychotherapy

Book Subtitle : Research, Practice, and Prevention

Editors : Nikolaos Kazantzis, Luciano LĽAbate

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-29681-4

Publisher : Springer New York, NY

eBook Packages : Behavioral Science , Behavioral Science and Psychology (R0)

Copyright Information : Springer-Verlag US 2007

Hardcover ISBN : 978-0-387-29680-7 Published: 16 August 2006

Softcover ISBN : 978-1-4419-3995-1 Published: 29 October 2010

eBook ISBN : 978-0-387-29681-4 Published: 11 December 2006

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XVIII, 464

Topics : Clinical Psychology , Personality and Social Psychology

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Mental health activities to help you and your clients thrive.

• Nov 27, 2021

11 New Therapy Worksheets for Anxiety, PTSD, and More

Updated: Sep 5, 2023

Download worksheets on CBT, anxiety, PTSD, self-care and more

T herapy worksheets can make all the difference. While it’s great to talk through new concepts, having a physical tool to share or send home can reinforce all the work done in sessions.

Fortunately, PDF worksheets can work just as well for telehealth as in-person therapy. You can print them out, or share them electronically on-screen or via e-mail.

Here’s a little about how these worksheets were developed, along with descriptions of each.

Article Highlights Background

CBT Triangle

Anxiety Plan

Understanding PTSD

Strong Emotions

Challenging Thoughts

Reframing trauma thoughts, anxiety hierarchy.

Trauma Narrative Making Meaning

Grounding Stones

Using These Tools

I developed each of the worksheets below based on my CBT and PTSD training, as well as my real-life experience in the field.

I find many of the mental health worksheets online cover key concepts, but they aren’t always user-friendly.

For example, a “cognitive distortion,” really just refers to an unhelpful thought. “Exposure,” means facing a fear that’s making your life difficult.

(And sometimes all those charts in traditional worksheets just make me dizzy.)

My worksheets and tools generally try to avoid this kind of psychological jargon, especially in the prompts and descriptions for clients. (I do sometimes keep these tech terms in the titles, mainly so that therapists recognize them at a glance.)

While we teachers and counselors like terms like “evidence-based,” many clients simply want to know what these skills mean for their lives, and how they can feel a little better.

They don't necessarily need to know any of the psychology terms to overcome specific symptoms or problems.

With that in mind, here are the worksheets I’ve developed based on concepts like anxiety management, mindfulness, grounding, PTSD treatment, exposure , and self-care.

To get started, my CBT triangle worksheet is available here for free . You can get the rest of these in a bundle at a nominal price. (Use coupon code 1110 for 10% off any of the worksheet kits and downloads.)

If you’re struggling with cost, send me a message and I’ll keep you updated when I run deals or promotions in the future.

Now, let’s get into some therapy worksheets !

CBT Triangle Worksheet

The cognitive behavioral triangle, or CBT triangle , is a quick and easy tool to teach the idea of changing our thoughts.

While feelings are natural, and many thoughts are automatic, we can change negative patterns over time.

For example, if someone tends to beat themselves up anytime they struggle at work, there may be a pattern in place.

They may believe their colleagues or boss don’t like them. This could lead to them feeling anxious or discouraged.

This discouragement could then make it harder to work, repeating the cycle.

With the CBT triangle, you can chart these patterns. The thought, “I’m bad at this job,” connects to the feeling, “discouragement, fear,” which leads to the behavior (taking more time on projects).

This then reinforces the original thought of, “I’m bad at this job,” and the triangle goes round and round.

The most basic step in CBT is to practice changing that original thought.

In a therapy session, we might try changing it to, “I’m still learning this job, but I get a little better each day.”

This would lead to the feeling of hopefulness, and the behavior of asking for help when needed, or getting a project done a bit faster.

This then leads to more positive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

This worksheet walks through this process, gives examples, and prompts for your students or clients to practice. (Or you can use it for yourself! I do that plenty.)

Download the CBT triangle worksheet here for free , and get news and freebies in the future.

Anxiety Plan Worksheet

I most often work with problems like anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, and panic disorders. These bring nasty symptoms that can lead to staying at home, missing work, and distancing from relationships.

While some anxiety is normal, there’s typically an underlying cause if it’s gotten this bad. While we work on dealing with that main issue, my clients need some relief in the moment .

While there are a handful of skills that work for many people, each of us are unique. That’s why I suggest clients try multiple options to see what works best for them. Simply having one to three tools can help someone get through a very difficult situation.

This worksheet covers the basics of anxiety, and walks the reader through developing a plan to use when things get bad.

You can get the anxiety plan worksheet here, as part of this bundle .

Understanding PTSD Worksheet

There are three main types of PTSD therapy I’ve used with clients. These included prolonged exposure (PE), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), and trauma-focused CBT (TF-CBT). In each of these, the first step is psychoeducation, or learning about the condition .

This worksheet is straightforward and includes the four categories of PTSD symptoms. It then walks you and your client through identifying their symptoms so they can better understand what’s going on.

This is a good tool to use at the beginning of trauma treatment. You can access it as part of the worksheet bundle. Check it out here.

Strong Emotions Worksheet

Feelings are normal. We’re all human, and we all have them in one way or another. Some of us struggle either temporarily or permanently with super-strong emotions.

Many therapies, like DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy) or TF-CBT have elements relating to emotion regulation. We want a balance of facing difficult feelings, accepting them, and decreasing them when they cause us problems.

This worksheet covers those concepts, including elements of exposure and regulation. It also includes tips to use when emotions connect to suicidal ideation or self-harm. This is a great tool to have on hand for yourself or your clients during times of overwhelm.

Get the strong emotions worksheet here as part of this set .

This worksheet builds on the idea of the CBT triangle, but takes it a step further. While the triangle is a place to start for everyday struggles, the process can be a bit harder for deeper issues.

One way to tackle these more difficult thoughts is through the socratic questioning process. This is a technique where a therapist guides the client in thinking through a belief, rather than simply telling them what to believe.

For example, if something thinks, “I’m a failure at everything I try,” it’s easy to answer, “No you’re not, and here’s why ...”

While that could be helpful, it can sometimes backfire. Many people hear that type of response all the time, but still don’t accept it. They may even try to defend the reasons they’re a failure, reinforcing the idea.

With questions, we can guide our own brains to come to new conclusions. This worksheet walks through a common process of challenging this type of thought.

Rather than jumping to the end, you or your client ask questions like, “Why do I believe this thought?” and “What is the evidence against this?”

Not only does this get us thinking differently about a particular belief, it can reprogram the way our brain responds to these thoughts in general.

This worksheet can be a great tool all on its own, or can be a starting place for you and your clients or students to begin to think differently.

Download it here as part of the anxiety set.

The previous worksheets build up to this more challenging one, which is why I developed them as a set.

When someone has PTSD, it means they have particular thoughts about the trauma that are holding them back. In CPT, they call these “stuck points.”

These thoughts usually include ones of self-blame for the trauma, and beliefs by the client that they can no longer be safe in the world.

This feeling of being unsafe is what leads the body to respond with other symptoms, such as hypervigilance, and intrusive memories. It’s trying to keep the person on alert, so they’ll be prepared for the next dangerous situation.

However, in most cases the individual is not in constant danger once the traumatic event has passed. However, their stuck points continue to convince them they are.

This worksheet covers common PTSD-related beliefs, often called “cognitive distortions,” relating to the trauma. It includes examples, and how one might challenge these thoughts.

This type of worksheet is likely to be used over several sessions in therapy. It fits particularly well with the processes of TF-CBT and CPT. It could also be used as an adjunct to PE and EMDR (eye movement desensitization reprocessing) therapy.

You can download the worksheet right away, and part of the anxiety and PTSD set here .

It’s harder to get around this particular technical term. The anxiety hierarchy is sometimes called gradual exposure. I like to call it mindful exposure, because adding the mindfulness element makes it work even better.

An anxiety hierarchy can be used when someone has a phobia, or a particular fear related to their anxiety or PTSD.

When someone continues to avoid the fear, it gets worse over time. Even if they are facing it, they may be powering through, or “white knuckling” it. This can also make the fear stronger, because the body stays on alert for danger.

Mindfully exposing to the fear will help decrease it. Sometimes this takes a while, and other times it only takes once.

For example, if someone has a fear of all dogs, they may start by simply walking near dogs. Over time, this could advance to walking with a friendly dog, all the way up to cuddling up with one.

At some point, the person is likely to replace their unrealistic fear of all dogs with a more balanced one. Rather than believing, “all dogs are dangerous,” they might come to believe, “many dogs are friendly and safe.”

This worksheet walks the reader through that process, and includes a homework sheet they can take with to fill out each time they practice.

Trauma Narrative

If you’re a mental health professional, you may be familiar with the term “trauma narrative, or “written account of the trauma.”

This simply means writing what happened during and after the trauma.

This is often used in therapies like CPT and TF-CBT. In PE, it’s typically done verbally, rather than in written form.

While it can be one of the most difficult parts of recovery, nearly all of my clients who do it say it was the most helpful part of their therapy.

Originally, the trauma narrative was always used in CPT. Over time, the therapists found that some people got better without it , although many clients still choose to do it.

The narrative is a type of mindful exposure in and of itself. Sometimes people struggle with facing their negative beliefs about themselves and the trauma. It may seem too scary to face them head on.

The trauma narrative helps people overcome this roadblock, so they can begin to get better. It also gives some power back. Rather than being controlled by having to avoid memories and fears all of the time, someone can take the reins of their life back.

The trauma narrative worksheet explains this process, and provides the space and structure to complete the narrative. This is generally done with the guidance of a therapist.

This is so that the therapist can help the client work through this challenging step. They can also provide some structure that encourages the survivor to actually do this, rather than always putting it off.

To get the worksheet as part of the set, click here .

Making Meaning

So many people hate the phrase, “everything happens for a reason.” I definitely get that. I’d like to rephrase it to, “We can make meaning of everything that happens.”

This can be a helpful part of recovery, and it seems to help people make peace with bad things. The alternative is to believe that all of life stinks, and will continue to until the end. This is a pretty tough way to live.

This worksheet keeps that step in mind. It’s meant to be used towards the end of working through PTSD symptoms. It looks at the big picture, and looking forward in life. It’s a great tool for those finishing up this portion of their therapy.

To get this worksheet along with the set, visit here .

Grounding Stone Worksheet and Kit

I recently developed this kit in response to our popular grounding stones article . This is a fun and tangible activity that helps teach the concept of mindfulness.

This worksheet includes education about grounding itself, and teaches the steps behind the process.

The steps of using a grounding stone are included in the worksheet. The kit also includes bonuses of posters, an audio meditation of the grounding stone exercise, and editable files to update the documents.

Check it out here , to see what’s included.

Self-Care Guide

It’s great to tackle problems and develop coping skills. Often we also need to look at the big picture as well.

Once we overcome problems like anxiety and PTSD, where do we go from there?

This worksheet takes a broader look at overall wellness. It includes prompts about one’s own strengths, as well as a brainstorming page on how to improve self-care.

This can be a great supplement to any other type of therapy group, class, or event. Download it as an individual worksheet here.

Making Use of Tools

When our lives are focused on helping clients, students, family, and others, things can get hectic. Therapy tools can help take a bit of that pressure off, while still offering evidence-based practices for real issues.

If you’re looking to make progress with your group or clients, stay on track, and use well-supported techniques, I’ve got you covered.

Our most popular product is our anxiety and PTSD bundle of worksheets, which you can download right here , and start using today.

Cohen, J. A., & Mannarino, A. P. (2015). Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Traumatized Children and Families. Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America , 24 (3), 557–570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2015.02.005

Walter, K. H., Dickstein, B. D., Barnes, S. M., & Chard, K. M. (2014). Comparing effectiveness of CPT to CPT-C among U.S. Veterans in an interdisciplinary residential PTSD/TBI treatment program. Journal of traumatic stress , 27 (4), 438–445.

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Top 10 CBT Worksheets Websites

The best cognitive behavioural therapy resources, activities and assignments all in one place.

Hi, it’s Rosie here, Uncommon Knowledge’s content manager.  I’ve been hearing a lot from practitioners who use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and are on the lookout for new resources, especially CBT worksheets.

So to flesh out our resources, I’ve had this list put together, which features ten of the best websites featuring CBT worksheets.

Edit: We’ve recently added our own free therapy worksheets section, including a range of CBT worksheets .

Where to find CBT worksheets

CBT  is one of the most widely used therapeutic treatment approaches in mental health today. Because it is an action-oriented approach, homework is a key aspect of the change process. And CBT tools such as worksheets, activity assignments, bibliotherapy and guided imagery can all be useful homework assignments.

But finding those clinically-sound, cost-effective and easy-to-access resources can be the therapist’s challenge. There’s not always time to sift through books or surf the ‘net looking for those CBT worksheets or teaching tools that are “just right”. Aside from staying on schedule, you want to spend time with your clients, helping them achieve their goals.

So here’s a list of ten of the best CBT resource sites for you to use as a reference point for your practice:

1. Therapist Aid

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The site contains a huge selection of CBT worksheets as well as videos, guides and other resources. ‘The ABC model of CBT’ is a particularly good video to help clients understand the relationship between their thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

2. Psychology Tools

Psychology Tools is another one of those really great sites that has been created by practitioners for practitioners. It was designed as a way to share materials among therapists. The site offers a number of CBT-specific articles, assessments and tools for clinical use. There is also a self-help section.

One of the strengths of this site is that it offers resources for several other therapies including ACT, DBT and EMDR. Therapists can also submit their own worksheets or other resources for consideration of inclusion on the website.

3. Excel At Life

Guided imagery and mindfulness meditation are often used as part of a CBT approach to treatment. This site offers a range of free audio downloads for a variety of needs. These downloads can be used in the office or as part of a homework assignment.

This site offers several CBT resources for the practitioner as well as the client seeking self-directed support including informative articles and forms such as a mood diary and various questionnaires. This site is exceptionally user-friendly.

4. Living CBT

This site offers a number of worksheets and tools including diary forms, action plans and a number of helpful self-statements that are great for sharing with clients. The tools are mostly in PDF and are easy to download. The site also offers several self-help books for purchase.

Aside from the self-help section, this site also has a Free CBT Therapist Resources section. The tools available here are similar to those found in the general section but some are more appropriate for use in the clinical setting.

5. Veronica Walsh’s CBT Blog

This site is a great little gem chock full of CBT resources and downloads. Worksheets cover everything from a CBT journaling guide to incorporating mindfulness to using CBT with cyberbullying. Spend a little time on this site and you’ll find all kinds of useful tools that you and your client can work with. The owner of this site has put a lot of work into making a plethora of resources available to the user.

6. Specialty Behavioral Health

This site offers a variety of worksheets for the practitioner as well as worksheets specifically for CBT. They are well-designed and easily adapted to a variety of clients. Two worksheets to check out are the ‘Ways to Challenge Your Thoughts’ and the ‘Procrastination Profiles’, as well as accompanying ‘Task Master Worksheet (for Procrastination)’. These are nicely done and would be particularly useful with the client struggling to understand thought patterns and challenging negative thinking.

7. GetSelfHelp

This website provides a number of CBT self-help and therapy resources, including downloadable worksheets, information sheets and CBT formulations.

One of the standouts of this site is the 40-page CBT-based self-help course. It’s free and chock full of information and tools to help your clients understand and implement changes. You can find the course here.

8. Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

This is a 52-page fully downloadable CBT workbook from the Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. It is full of client-friendly descriptions, activities and tools for setting and achieving goals. This workbook is the kind of tool that can be used by the therapist with a client or as a self-help tool for self-motivated clients.

9. Martin CBT

This site is often mentioned when the question of CBT resources comes up. While not as extensive an offering as some sites, the forms and tools found here are well-produced, immediately usable and user-friendly.

One of the highlights is the ‘Cycle of Maladaptive Behavior’ sheet. Clients don’t always understand the cycle and how their behaviours manifest. This worksheet does a good job of describing the cycle and how it unfolds. The site also offers an excellent handout with examples and descriptions of cognitive distortions. Definitely worth a visit!

10. EPISCenter

A list of CBT worksheets would not be complete without including a few child specific resources. CBT has been shown to be effective with children, especially in trauma work.

This workbook is an excellent resource for CBT and trauma work with children. There are relatively few tools specifically designed for children. This workbook is particularly well-constructed and child-friendly.

So there you have it. Ten of the best sites out there for CBT resources and tools. Are there more out there? You bet! There are lots of great resources out there for every level of need and every type of problem. But these sites represent some of the best of what’s out there and will get you started in working with your clients using CBT worksheets. You’ll have more time with your clients and your clients will benefit from having some of the best tools out there.

Update: This post was so popular with readers we added another! Read 10 More Top CBT Worksheets Websites here .

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is an important part of the treatment jigsaw and our co-founder Mark Tyrrell would want me to mention the following articles we already have available, in the spirit of setting it in a wider context:

• 3 Instantly Calming CBT Techniques for Anxiety
• The Sensible Psychology Dictionary defines CBT

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Click here to read how my online course ‘Conversational Reframing’ shows you how to craft cunning reframes and slip them past your clients’ conscious criticisms.

About Mark Tyrrell

Psychology is my passion. I've been a psychotherapist trainer since 1998, specializing in brief, solution focused approaches. I now teach practitioners all over the world via our online courses .

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17 Therapy Worksheets for Teens, Adults, and Couples (+PDFs)

We have mostly covered some of the biggest and most mainstream forms of therapy, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

In this piece, our goal is to provide a look at some other available alternative forms of therapy. For each type of therapy, we’ll give a brief description and provide some exercises and activities that can be found in each.

We will cover reality therapy, couples and family therapy , occupational therapy, therapy for oppositional defiant disorder, therapy focusing on negative schemas, rational emotive behavior therapy, Imago therapy, and interpersonal therapy.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises will explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

2 reality therapy worksheets for adults, 3 couples, group, and family therapy worksheets, 3 occupational therapy handwriting worksheets, 3 therapy worksheets for oppositional defiant disorder, schema therapy, 3 rebt worksheets (pdf), 2 imago therapy worksheets, interpersonal therapy, most suitable therapies for teens and kids, a take-home message.

Rather than focusing on acceptance and finding meaning in storytelling, reality therapy is focused on problem-solving and finding practical solutions for specific goals. The foundation of this type of therapy is the idea that our problems stem from disconnection from people in our lives, and that creating or mending these connections will help to solve them (William Glasser Institute, 2010).

The most important question in reality therapy is one that should be constantly asked:

“Is what I am doing getting me closer to the people I need?”

If this type of therapy sounds like one that could be useful to you or your clients, read on to learn about two worksheets that can help.

1. WDEP Questions Worksheet

“WDEP” stands for Wants, Doing, Evaluate, and Plan. These four components are integral to reality therapy, and this system is used by reality therapists everywhere. This approach helps clients discover what they want and what they are doing to obtain or achieve what they want, evaluate whether what they are doing will contribute to their goals or not, and plan ways to achieve their goals and change problematic behaviors or aspects of their life.

The worksheet is divided into these four sections with space to answer the questions listed for each component. The questions are as follows:

• What do you want rather than this issue?
• What does your ideal career, family life, relationship, etc. look like?
• What do your loved ones/friends want for you?
• What do you want to achieve from this therapy?
• What actions have you tried taking?
• When you behave this way, what thoughts are occurring in your head?
• What do you feel when you think these thoughts?
• How do these thoughts/actions impact your wellbeing?
• Are these actions taking you in your desired direction?
• Are you content with how things are?
• Is what you want attainable?
• Is viewing things this way helpful?
• What will you willingly change about your thoughts or actions to achieve this?
• When? How frequently? Where?
• Are you clear about what you will do? Is it realistic?
• How will you know you have achieved it?
• Can you start now? Is it in your control?
• How committed are you doing it?

For each component, the reader should seriously consider each question and write a description of how they are doing in each area.

Going through this worksheet can help the client identify what it is they really want, assess how they are progressing toward achieving what they want, and draft a plan to achieve their goals. This worksheet is specifically created for reality therapy, but it has wide-ranging applications. Anyone who is hoping to make a positive change will find valuable information by completing this worksheet.

If you’d like to give this exercise a try, click to download the WDEP Questions Worksheet .

2. Finding Discrepancies

This worksheet is designed to help people who are struggling with problematic behaviors, and as such it is useful in therapy for addictions. The goal of this exercise is to assist your client in finding discrepancies between the potential outcomes of both stopping and continuing.

A two-page worksheet, it is divided into several sections to be filled out by the client. Each section compares the impacts on the client’s life if they continue with the behavior, to their life if they stopped using. For each section, the client can note multiple aspects of their life in each scenario.

• The first section is “ Impacts on my future goals ”. Below this, there are two columns labeled “Impacts if I continue…” and “Impacts f I stop…” that are to be completed by the client.
• Next, the client is instructed to imagine the differences in their life with or without the behavior in terms of their physical or mental health.
• The third section is on how the problematic behavior affects their relationships with friends.
• The fourth section is dedicated to comparing the effects on their closest relationships with or without that behavior; these may be with family or with a significant other.
• In the fifth section, clients are instructed to compare the effects on their financial situation if they stop using vs. if they continue. For some people, this section alone can provoke a positive change!
• Finally, the worksheet ends with a look at the potential outcomes on your client’s education, personal, and professional development.

Filling out these different domains will give your clients insight into their current and ideal lives – without the problematic behavior.

Click here to see this worksheet for yourself or your clients.

These worksheets are specifically designed for use within couples, groups, and families.

1. About Your Partner

This worksheet can be an excellent icebreaker for two people in a relationship who are looking to make changes and solve relationship problems. It fosters lighthearted conversation, while reaffirms the couple’s connection and invites them to discover more about both themselves and the other person.

Use this worksheet to guide some relaxed ‘interviewing’ where each will take turns asking a question from each section below.

There are six types of category:

• Fun and Games – this looks at enjoyable things in your partner’s life, including what brings them happiness and brings about positive emotions;
• The Future – these questions help couples discover their partner’s dreams, hopes, and ambitions;
• You and Me – looking at their relationship together can encourage a couple to bond;
• Other People – some general discovery questions about the other person’s relationships besides the two of you;
• Careers – their professional aspirations, personal development, hopes for personal growth, and a little about their day-to-day; and
• Feelings – these items explore your partner’s deeper emotions, thoughts, and psychological experiences.

Discussing these topics can bring a feeling of closeness between partners. They can discover more about one another and share their hopes for a shared, positive future.

Download this worksheet here .

2. Good Qualities

One nice exercise for couples in therapy is to reflect on their significant other’s good qualities; particularly if they are struggling with conflict or similar difficulties.

This is a simple exercise that can motivate partners to work on those difficulties, as well as reconnect with the reasons they love one another. Each partner fills out four sections:

• The good qualities which first drew me to my significant other were …
• The most cherished memories of our time together include …
• I appreciate my partner because …
• My partner shows me they care by …

When helping clients with this sheet, encourage them to think of 3 items for each category. What are three reasons they appreciate their partner? Three ways they demonstrate show caring or affectionate behavior?

You’ll find this sheet here as a free PDF .

3. Inside and Outside

Inside and Outside is designed for families in therapy. Developed for children, it is a starting point for discussion of the results. Kids can use it to understand, in turn, how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are related – useful insight for dealing with family problems.

On this sheet, you’ll find a silhouette of a child. The six boxes surrounding the figure are easy for kids to fill in, with three per side to be filled separately. Ask the child to complete the sentence stem “ When I feel… ” with an emotion you would like to discuss.

The child then recalls a specific context where they felt this emotion and completes the left column of three boxes:

• I feel like this in my body…
• I behave this way …

After the child has completed these left-hand boxes, the worksheet invites them to imagine that the situation is the same, but their thoughts change.

With this new thought instead, they should work their way down the right-hand side boxes – thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

This aims to help children compare their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors when they are struggling with an emotion, and when they change their thoughts. As well as providing the talking point described above, it offers insight into how changed – ideally positive – thinking can impact on their emotions.

In this way, Inside and Outside enables parents and others to understand what a child is experiencing.

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While we tend to think of therapy in terms of counseling, psychiatry, and clinical psychology, there is also a whole separate realm of therapy: occupational therapy.

This type of therapy is intended to help people with more physical problems than psychological problems—although the two can often go hand in hand. Occupational therapy can help people dealing with illness, injury, or disability to improve their health and promote a greater quality of life .

Handwriting is one area where many people with physical difficulties may face many challenges. Handwriting requires several fine motor skills as well as visual perception skills (Therapy Fun Zone, 2017).

Read on to discover three worksheets that can help children improve their handwriting.

1. Decorating Cookies

This worksheet is intended for kids around the K3 or 5-year-old level, although it will be helpful to child who wants to improve their handwriting. Completing this worksheet is as simple as putting pencil to paper and decorating the cookies.

It might seem overly simplistic, but pre-handwriting movement practice involves following paths with a pencil. Done on a regular basis, it can have a large, positive impact on handwriting ability.

In this Decorating Cookies worksheet, you begin with some example dotted lines, which kids can follow to practice creating circles and waves. There are guide lines and a prompt for children to write about their favorite cookies, then the second page provides basic ‘cookie’ outlines that they can decorate freehand.

Children will likely find this worksheet fun and engaging as well as useful. If you’d like to download it and give it to your child or client, click here .

2. Snowman Hangman

This worksheet takes the original “hangman” game and adapts it for children. The rules are the same, but the picture to be drawn is a snowman rather than a hanging man (which might be a bit morbid for children).

Player One chooses a word, and player Two tries to guess the letters in the word before player One has a chance to draw and dress the whole snowman.

Below the instructions for drawing each section of the snowman and the space for the drawing is a small writing exercise, inviting kids to write three more words related to winter.

Snowman Hangman  will help the child to practice their writing and drawing skills while staying engaged and having fun.

3. What Does It Look Like Under the Sea?

This worksheet is a fun way for kids to practice both drawing and handwriting. It’s always easier to get kids to practice when they’re writing about something fun and using their imagination!

The worksheet asks a simple question: What does it look like under the sea?

Below this question, there are instructions for the child to imagine what the underwater world might look like and a space to draw what they imagine.

Below the drawing space, there is another instruction: for the child to write about their idea. They can write about what they think the ocean bed or marine life might look like, what animals or features it might include that would be difficult to draw, or anything else they are thinking about the topic.

You can view or download the worksheet here .

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a disorder found in children that involves an ongoing pattern of “uncooperative, defiant, and hostile behavior toward authority figures” that interferes with daily functioning (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2013).

This disorder can include symptoms like:

• Frequent tantrums
• Excessive arguing
• Deliberately upsetting or irritating others
• Being touchy or easily annoyed by others
• Mean and hateful talk when upset

If your child or client is suffering from ODD, these three worksheets may be able to help.

1. Making Good Decisions

This worksheet will help a child with ODD understand the importance of making good decisions, as well as the benefits and advantages that come with making good decisions.

This worksheet has seven sections for the child to fill in:

• Write down 3 decisions you’ve made in the past 24 hours.
• Here, write the best decision you believe you’ve ever made.
• In what ways did this ‘best decision’ impact you?
• Here, write the worst decision you believe you’ve ever made.
• In what ways did this ‘worst decision’ impact you?
• Write down 3 key decisions you’ll need to make as you get older.
• What decision are you most excited for as you grow up?

Completing this activity can help children work through their thoughts on making decisions, and hopefully, lead them to make good decisions that will benefit them.

Click to download this Making Good Decisions PDF .

2. Responsibility

It is important for all children to develop a foundation of responsibility, but it can be especially important and especially difficult for children with ODD. This worksheet can help teach them about responsibility and show them that responsibility is an important part of life.

There are seven sections to this worksheet with a question or instruction to list examples for each one.

The questions are:

• What does ‘being responsible’ mean?
• What kind of responsibilities do you have in school?
• What are some responsibilities you have at home?
• List some responsibilities you have in your neighborhood?
• Name some ways you show responsibility?
• List some situations where you do not show responsibility.
• What are some things you can do to show more responsibility?

Work through this Showing Responsibility activity with your child or client if they are struggling to answer the questions or having trouble focusing on them.

3. Something About Me

Sometimes children struggle with low self-esteem —causing them to lash out and behave in problematic ways. This worksheet can help them realize that they have good qualities and help them begin to appreciate them.

The worksheet includes seven boxes to fill in:

• My friends think I’m awesome because…
• My classmates say I’m great at…
• I feel very happy when I…
• Something that I’m really proud of is…
• I make my family happy when I…
• One unique thing about me is…

You can download and use the Something About Me with your own kids, students, or clients.

What is schema therapy? – Kati Morton

Schema-focused cognitive therapy, or schema therapy, is a kind of therapy that combines aspects of cognitive-behavioral , experiential, interpersonal, and psychoanalytic therapies into one comprehensive treatment approach (Pearl, n.d.). It is intended to help people who are struggling with negative patterns of thought, behavior, or both.

The name comes from the idea that through living our lives, we develop schemas, or patterns, that guide our thinking and feeling. We rarely even notice that we have these specific schemas, but we all do. The problem stems not from following a pattern, but from following a negative or maladaptive pattern.

Some of the most harmful schemas or patterns of belief revolve around one’s negative feelings towards or about the self (e.g., “I’m a bad person,” “I will never be happy,” or “I am not good enough.”).

This type of therapy is conducted in three phases:

• Assessment of the schemas
• Working on bringing emotional awareness to the schemas
• Making behavioral changes (Pearl, n.d.)

The Schema Therapy worksheet described below can help in one or all of these three phases, and can be used individually or with a therapist—it will likely be more effective when completed with a therapist.

Thought Record Worksheet

This worksheet can also help clients to identify some of the problematic thoughts they are having. There is space on this sheet for clients to write down thoughts that are troubling them. They can note when these occurred, and unpack them further in further detail in the next column.

It can be helpful when filling out this sheet to rate the perceived credibility of each thought as you record them, as well as the emotions that were associated with each.

The second column from the end is provided as a space where your client can come up with alternative thoughts, challenging the negative automatic thinking and the schemas they represent. You may find this list of cognitive distortions helpful when introducing your client to the exercise.

Lastly, your client is invited to reassess the perceived credibility of their original negative thought out of 100%. Ideally, coming up with an alternative will have helped to reduce this figure.

This exercise requires regular practice, but it is essential to help identify negative automatic thoughts you would like to stop.

Download and fill in this Thought Record Worksheet , or use it as a handout.

For further insights into Schema Therapy, these articles are recommended:

• Schema Therapy in Practice : 12 Worksheets & Techniques
• Schema Therapy For Practitioners : 7 Questionnaires and Tests

This type of therapy focuses on solving emotional and behavioral problems to help people improve their quality of life.

It grew out of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and encourages a more action-oriented approach to addressing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems (Albert Ellis Institute, 2014).

As such, the worksheets for this type of therapy are often not exclusive to REBT, but can also be used for clients in CBT and other similar forms of therapy.

See the worksheets below to get some ideas about REBT exercises and activities.

1. Dysfunctional Thought Record

This worksheet is one that should be filled out over the course of a few days or even weeks, depending on how “wordy” the client is!

It is a structured journal in which the client can note their dysfunctional thoughts and spot a pattern.

It is divided into seven columns with space for writing about multiple events.

• In the first column, the client is to write down the date and time.
• In the second column, client describes the situation they were in.
• The third column is for writing down the automatic thought that arose.
• In column four, clients should note the associated emotions they felt.
• Column five is where the client should list any cognitive distortions that came up during this situation and automatic thoughts.
• In the next column, the client should brainstorm effective alternative thoughts that can fight the dysfunctional automatic thoughts.
• Finally, the seventh column is for writing down the outcome of the situation.

Keeping a record of these thoughts can help the client to organize their thoughts, make sense of the reaction they have in certain situations, and detect a pattern for the automatic negative thoughts.

Click to download the Dysfunctional Thought Record .

2. REBT Formulation

This is another worksheet that takes a rational approach—connecting a situation to the following response and comparing the outcome to the outcome if a more positive response occurred. REBT focuses on solving emotional problems before moving on to thought or behavior problems.

The worksheet differentiates between two types of emotional responses: unhealthy (or problematic) responses and healthy (or desired) responses.

In the first section, the client is instructed to describe an activating event. This is an event that provokes an emotional response. Four subsections are to be completed here:

• Describe the situation.
• Isolate the critical factor (what it was about the event that affected you).
• Notice and accept bodily sensations.
• Invent a symbol/metaphor for the experience (one that explains how it felt).

Next, the client will describe the problematic response.

The client is instructed to name the emotion, then list the thoughts and images associated with it, (i.e., what was happening in your mind during the event?) and the actions and intentions that followed (i.e., how you reacted or wanted to react).

Finally, the client should describe what a healthy response would look like.

First, there is space to name the emotion. Next, there is space to list the cognitive objectives (i.e., how you would need to think in order to feel this way) and the behavioral objectives (i.e., what you would need to do in order to feel this way).

This worksheet can help guide clients through a comparison of two distinct types of responses and help them see that the healthy response is the better one. It can also help to develop a plan to react in a healthy way more often.

Download this REBT Formulation Worksheet .

3. Logging Positive Beliefs

The Logging Positive Beliefs worksheet facilitates the confrontation of negative beliefs and automatic thoughts by using reason to replace old, self-critical beliefs with new, positive beliefs.

At the top of the worksheet, there are two bubbles. In the first, write down the problematic, old belief, and in the right-hand box, create a new belief to replace it.

Underneath the two beliefs is space to write down 10 pieces of evidence that support the new belief or is inconsistent with the old belief. These can be experiences you have had, something someone else has said to you, or anything else you can think of that supports the new belief or sheds doubt on the old belief.

Use this link to download the Logging Positive Beliefs worksheet.

It was developed as an alternative to more traditional methods of couples therapy and is based on facilitating effective dialogue.

Childhood experiences are important in this form of therapy, as imago therapy assumes a link between childhood relationships and adult relationships (Imago Relationships, 2016).

The main activity in Imago therapy is called the Dialogue, and combines three essential elements:

• Mirroring, or repeating your partner’s words back to them.
• Summarizing and expressing understanding of your partner’s words.
• Empathizing with your partner.

If this type of therapy intrigues you, check out the information sheet and worksheet described below to give it a try.

The Imago Dialogue 101

This resource is not a worksheet, but a guide on how to implement the Imago Dialogue into your relationship.

This guide will provide background on the Imago Dialogue, describe the difference between dialogue and discussion, and walk the reader through the three phases described above.

It also includes directions and some suggestions for specific phrases you can use in each phase.

Click  here to view or download this informational guide to the Imago Dialogue exercise.

The Imago Workup

This exercise is based on an Imago Workup exercise by therapist Dr. Pat Love, author of Imago Theory and the Psychology of Attraction (Love & Shulkin, 2001). It is a great way to prepare clients for thinking about how their childhood experiences have affected their adult relationships.

Part A requires the client to answer five questions or prompts:

• List three negative qualities of the people who brought you up.
• Now, think of three positive qualities of the same people.
• As a child, what was your greatest unmet desire from your caregivers?
• How did you want to feel as a child?
• How did you behave in response to frustration?

Next, the client is instructed to copy these answers into Part B, using them to complete the following statements:

• I am drawn to somebody who is…
• But I desire them to be…
• So I can receive…
• And so I can feel…
• However, I sometimes prevent myself from receiving the love I desire by…

Many clients may be surprised at how neatly their responses fit into the five unfinished statements. It’s no secret that our childhood has an effect on who we become and how we live and love as adults, but it can be surprising to see how big this effect can be.

Here’s the Imago Workup for download.

Unlike some of the other therapies we have described, interpersonal therapy (IPT) is a brief form of therapy that focuses on resolving interpersonal problems rather than individual problems and follows a very structured approach (Weissman, 2017).

IPT is based on the idea that attachments are integral to human development and flourishing, and that humans are happiest when they know there are trusted people they can turn to in times of trouble.

This type of therapy has been shown to be effective for depression, relationship problems, anxiety, eating disorders, and other problems in a variety of scenarios. It is a time-limited therapy (usually 12 to 16 weeks) that focuses on the issues the client is having connecting with others rather than on strictly internal problems. The goals are to eliminate or decrease the severity of symptoms, improve interpersonal functioning, and increase social support (Interpersonal Psychology Institute, 2017).

There are few worksheets for this type of therapy, but if you’d like to learn more about IPT you read our own article on Interpersonal Therapy .

For example, CBT is excellent for treating depression and anxiety, while DBT has been found to be effective for bipolar disorder, and a specific type of CBT called Exposure and Response Prevention is the best tool for treating OCD.

The best type of therapy is often dependent on the diagnosis, but there are some types of therapy that have proven especially effective for children.

According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry , the following types of therapies can be used in the specified situations:

• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Can be applied to children dealing with mood problems, anxiety, or distorted thinking.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Can be used with older adolescents with suicidal thoughts, self-harm, or borderline personality disorder.
• Family Therapy: Can be applied to whole families, including children or adolescents, parents, siblings, and grandparents.
• Play Therapy: Can be used with children to help them recognize, identify, and verbalize their feelings.
• Psychotherapy : Can apply to children to help understand what is driving their behavior and discover patterns of behavior.

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I hope this piece has given you a useful overview of the many different types of therapy available to you. Remember, if you try one and it doesn’t seem to help, there are many more that may better suit you!

Whether you are struggling with a DSM diagnosis, a new source of stress, or just the difficulties of everyday life, there is likely a type of therapy out there that will work for you.

Have you tried any of these types of therapy before? How did it go? Would you consider or reconsider any of them?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Thank you for reading!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• Albert Ellis Institute. (2014). Rational emotive & cognitive-behavior therapy . The Albert Ellis Institute. Retrieved from http://albertellis.org/rebt-cbt-therapy/
• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2013). Oppositional defiant disorder . AACAP. Retrieved from http://www.aacap.org/aacap/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Children_With_Oppositional_Defiant_Disorder_72.aspx
• Imago Relationships. (2016). What is Imago? Imago Relationships International. Retrieved from http://imagorelationships.org/pub/about-imago-therapy/what-is-imago/
• Interpersonal Psychology Institute. (2017). About IPT . IPT Institute. Retrieved from https://iptinstitute.com/about-ipt/
• Love, P., & Shulkin, S. (2001). Imago theory and the psychology of attraction. The Family Journal, 9 (3), 246-249.
• Pearl, M. (n.d.). What is schema therapy? Schema Therapy Center of New Orleans. Retrieved from http://www.schematherapy-nola.com/what-is-schema-therapy
• Therapy Fun Zone. (2017). Fine Motor Requirements For Handwriting . Retrieved from https://therapyfunzone.net/blog/fine-motor-requirements-for-handwriting/
• Weissman, M. (2017). A history of IPT . IPT Institute. Retrieved from https://iptinstitute.com/about-ipt/
• William Glasser Institute. (2010). Reality therapy . WGI US. Retrieved from http://www.wglasser.com/the-glasser-approach/reality-therapy

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What a wealth of helpful information– so empowering and hopeful! Thank you so much!!!

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Biblical Counselor's Toolkit

Free Biblical Counseling Resources by Nanette Loveless

Chapter 6 – Homework That Transforms

Printable Resources: “Interacting with Scripture” bookmark: [pdf] Journaling Behaviors worksheet: [pdf]

Homework is an integral part of biblical counseling. It sets biblical counseling apart from other methods of counseling. It is the key tool used in helping the counselee to integrate change into her life. In this chapter, we will consider some benefits of homework as well as how to design good homework assignments that can result in genuine heart change. Because every assignment should be given with a specific purpose in mind, we will also consider possible purposes for particular assignments. In addition, this author has made free, downloadable, reproducible homework packets available online [1] for counselors to assign as homework when relevant. Some of the titles include “Attitudes,” “Attributes of God,” “The Fear of God,” “Fear of Man,” “Living for God’s Glory,” “The Sovereignty of God,” “A Study in Job” and “Who Am I?” Additional studies are added on an on-going basis.

Benefits of Homework

The advantage that biblical counselors have over other counseling systems is God’s sanctifying (transforming) power in the lives of His people through His Word. God’s goal in changing His people is that they might “grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ … ” (Eph. 4:15). This change process is called sanctification (1 Thess. 5:23-24; Heb. 2:11) and is discussed more fully in Chapter 7. Paul points to three aspects of growing in Christ-likeness: Putting off sinful conduct, replacing it with righteousness while being renewed in the mind. Homework provides opportunities for God’s sanctifying power to be at work in the counselee on a daily basis by presenting opportunities to practice putting off sinful ways and putting on righteousness, while the counselor provides accountability. Reading, writing, listening and viewing assignments provide for renewing of the counselee’s mind.

A counselor and counselee will generally meet an hour or two per week but sanctification does not take place in an hour or two per week. It is a continual daily progression of change and growth. Imagine an athlete setting a goal to run a race and then training for only an hour or two per week. It is unthinkable in the world of athletics and it should be just as unthinkable in the area of spiritual growth. Homework provides the counselee with the daily training required to run the race toward Christ-likeness.

It is a counselor’s hope that his counselee will come face-to-face with biblical truth in each counseling session, but for genuine heart change to take root, a counselee must come face-to-face with her Maker on a regular basis. Homework provides this opportunity for the counselee when she seeks to “mine the riches of Scripture for understanding, conviction, promises and guidance.” [2] The homework assignments provided at www.bctoolkit.net  are designed with this purpose in mind.

When people lose sight of God and His purposes, becoming self-focused in the midst of their trials, they respond to their difficulties as if they are alone and left to their own devices. Homework offers the opportunity to point the counselee to God and His work in the lives of His people. The awareness of God’s presence and power helps to clarify what is God’s responsibility and what is the counselee’s responsibility. Homework focusing on God, His character, His ways and His standards will put the counselee’s circumstances in proper perspective, bringing hope, direction and purpose to the counselee. The counselor cannot be with the counselee throughout the week; the Holy Spirit can and is. Well-constructed homework can help the counselee view her circumstances through the lens of Scripture, directing her to daily depend on God, His Spirit and His promises while preventing her from growing dependent on the counselor.

In addition to the benefits that homework avails the counselee, homework is also profitable for the counselor. For example, it is not uncommon for a counselee to come to a session having discovered, through a homework assignment, biblical truths that the counselor had planned to teach, freeing up the counselor to move on to another agenda item. This is a demonstration of the Holy Spirit teaching the counselee through the Word. Another benefit to the counselor is homework that provides rich data that directs the counselor’s agenda. Journaling as well as assignments that contain questions for the counselee to answer are examples of data gathering homework assignments. Figure 6.1 provides a worksheet that can be assigned for a counselee’s journaling.

Figure 6.1. An example of a journaling homework assignment

Designing Homework that Transforms

As we saw in Chapters 2 and 4 while completing the steps of preparing the homework for the first and subsequent sessions, there are six basic elements that every good homework assignment should include:

• Relevant Bible Reading including instructions to interact with the text
• Relevant Scripture Memory with instruction to “meditate on” or mull over practical applications of the passage throughout each day
• Prayer: Assign specifics such as what, when and how to pray
• Collateral Reading involves the reading of a theologically-sound book, article or pamphlet relevant to the counselee’s problem, including a short assignment to interact with what is being read (i.e. answering study questions or highlighting principles that the counselee will implement)
• Church attendance, involvement and/or note-taking
• Projects include anything that the counselee is asked to do, apart from the above

Each of these six aspects of life-transforming homework is addressed individually below.

• Relevant Bible Reading

Something that few Christians understand about reading the Bible is that the Holy Spirit had a specific purpose for every biblical passage written. The purpose of a particular passage is its telos . “The Greek word telos means ‘purpose’ or ‘end.’ What’s the goal that God has in mind?” [3] Jay Adams further explains:

… Let’s consider the telos of John’s entire Gospel. Why do you think so many people have been converted through John 1:12, John 3:16, John 3:36, John 14 and so on?

Because that was the telos (or purpose) of that Gospel: “These are written that you may believe and that through believing you might have life in His name” (John 20:31). Use the Bible, whether you are discussing a book or just a section of it, for the purpose that it was given. Search out what the Holy Spirit had in mind. Don’t use it for your purposes or anybody else’s. Find the Holy Spirit’s purpose, use it for that purpose, and you’ll find it powerful. It will change people. It will do things to them. [4]

This means that the counselor must always be studying the context of Scripture passages used and seeking to increase his understanding that he might interpret and teach accurately and according to the telos of each text taught. Not all counselors are Bible scholars, but all counselors, especially beginning counselors, should be consistently double-checking his understanding against the understanding of more mature teachers. A good Bible commentary such as John MacArthur’s is a helpful resource for gleaning and checking understanding, but counselors should be growing in their understanding of how to study Scripture. Books that can promote learning in the area of Bible study and interpretation are:

• Journey Into God’s Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the Bible by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays
• What to do on Thursday: A Layman’s Guide to the Practical Use of the Scriptures by Jay E. Adams
• Lord, Teach Me to Study the Bible in 28 Days by Kay Arthur
• The New How to Study Your Bible: Discover the Life-Changing Approach to God’s Word by Kay Arthur, David Arthur, Pete DeLacy

When a counselor uses Scripture in accordance with its telos , lives are transformed. “Telic analysis asks, ‘What did the Holy Spirit intend to do to people through this passage?” [5] This is what is meant by “Relevant” Bible Reading assignments. Helpful sources available to the biblical counselor to assist in locating relevant biblical texts are Transformed Into His Likeness by Armand P. Tiffe published by Focus Publishing and the Quick Scripture Reference series published by Baker Books.

It is important to understand that simply reading the words as they are written in the Bible will not necessarily result in transformation. The reader ought to be interacting with the text so that it becomes integrated into daily living. Jay Adams speaks to this:

There’s nothing magical about the Bible or about how to read and understand it. Some people think that if they just read a certain number of words or passages every day at a certain hour, that’s going to make a difference in their lives. And, by the grace of God, it might! The Word of God might snag them at some point. But just reading words in the Bible is not the same as studying and understanding those words. God places no premium on ignorance or sloth. [6]

For this reason, biblical counselors should encourage their counselees to interact with the text in some manner that is relevant to the counselee’s problems. This means that the following assignment would not be the most effective tool for sanctification: “Read one chapter per day in the book of Colossians.”

Now, granted there is much in the epistle to the Colossians that would most likely bring the counselee under conviction that might lead to change. But assignments ought to be concrete leading to a specific action. A more effective assignment would look like this:

Read through the book of Colossians one chapter per day.

Keep a journal answering the following questions related to your daily reading:

• What did this passage say about God?
• Is there a sin to avoid? Is there a command to obey?
• What is a specific teaching that can be understood from this passage?
• What did this passage say about putting off sin or putting on righteousness?
• What is one thing from this passage for which I can thank God?
• From this passage what is one thing I should ask God to help me do?
• Write down a specific application you will make in your life today as a result of your reading. [7]

Notice the difference between the two assignments above. Note how the latter provokes thought, digging for answers, self-examination and dependence upon God, while the former may become a duty checked off a list. Depending upon what the counselor’s purpose is for any given assignment, the questions suggested above may be modified to fit any situation. For a new counselee, it may be best to have the counselee looking for only one item on the list but by the time she graduates from counseling, she may be consistently able to complete the list in one sitting.

One note of warning in regards to assignments: If every assignment asks a counselee to change something, she will most likely begin to feel overwhelmed with attempting to change several things at once, as if she has “too many balls in the air” or “too many irons in the fire.” A counselor must be sensitive to the counselee’s “load.” If she is working on a plan to trust the Lord more to overcome anxiety and worry, for example, and her Scripture reading points her to communicating in a more loving fashion, she may not yet be ready to take on a new plan for controlling her tongue. Instead, the reading may be preparing her heart for her next plan, but she should not be held accountable to changing every sin pattern in her life at once. As she learns to love the Lord more fully, she will ultimately trust Him more, be less anxious and begin to have a desire to love others as well. As this change takes place in her heart, she may then be ready to begin a new transformation plan on controlling her tongue. Jesus said: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). This must be the counselor’s approach as well.

Figure 6.2 contains a list of ideas that a counselor might use in helping the counselee learn to interact with the text of Scripture. This list is presented in the form of a bookmark which can be given to the counselee, streamlining the assignment process. For example, the assignment might be, “Read one chapter of James each day and respond to numbers 4 and 6 on the bookmark.” As time progresses, the counselee can begin to design her own homework assignments, using the ideas listed on the bookmark. A counselor can add his own ideas to the list and seek additional ideas from counselees, compiling a custom-designed list of ideas for interacting with the text of Scripture.

• Relevant Scripture Memorization

Unlike other methods of counseling, the biblical counselor is not concerned primarily with outward change in the counselee but is concerned with the “heart” (inner man) as it is defined in Scripture (see figure 6.3 for biblical doctrine on “The Heart”). Because God’s Word tells us that human problems are rooted in the heart, we know that what controls the heart shapes human behavior (Heb. 4:12; Matt. 12:18-20; Mark 7:15-23). The Psalmist wrote, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11). As a counselee spends time memorizing Scripture passages that target sin areas in her life, God’s Word is being “hidden in her heart” in order to crush idols and correct unbiblical thinking, leading to more righteous patterns of living. Therefore, memorization of relevant Scripture passages is essential for homework assignments that lead to genuine heart change.

When referring to a counselor assigning “relevant” Scripture memorization, the meaning is similar to that above in the discussion about “relevant” Bible reading: The counselor should consider the telos of the text being assigned. If a counselee is working on a sinful pattern of angry outbursts, for example, she should be assigned the memorization of passages where the telos is overcoming the sin of uncontrolled anger. As noted in the “Relevant Bible Reading” section above, sources available to the biblical counselor to assist in locating relevant biblical texts for memorization are Transformed Into His Likeness by Armand P. Tiffe published by Focus Publishing and the Quick Scripture Reference series published by Baker Books.

Interacting with Scripture

Cut out the bookmark below and fold on the center line, forming a two-sided list of ideas to promote the interacting with Scripture. The image below can be used as a master and reproduced onto cardstock and laminated.

Figure 6.2. A bookmark for interacting with Scripture

Figure 6.3. The doctrine of “the heart”

A counselor cannot assume that the counselee has a regular prayer life or that she enjoys a strong prayer life. Many counselees seem to be neglecting prayer and do not really know how to pray. Although God tells us to ask Him for what we need, it is important that the counselor teach the counselee that prayer is not simply about bringing a list of requests to God for Him to fill. Prayer is about fellowship with God. It is about exalting Him and bowing to His Majesty. Prayer is a demonstration of dependence upon God and an exercise in trusting His sovereign will. Prayer is an act of confessing sin to God. There are several resources listed in Chapter 7 under “Step 3: Pray”  regarding prayer. In addition, some specific homework assignments are listed below to guide a counselee in prayer. It would be best to assign these one or two at a time for multiple weeks each, so that the counselee can gradually integrate them into her daily habits:

• Every morning when you wake up (before you get out of bed), think about how Jesus suffered on the cross so that He could save you, then thank Him for doing that. Ask Him to give you the strength to please Him today – to get out of bed and live the day for Him instead of for yourself.
• Thank God for His provision EVERY time you eat something, even when eating alone.
• When you sit down to read your Bible, ask God to open your eyes so that you see what He has for you today from the Bible reading. One way to do this is to read Psalm 119:18 to God as a prayer for Him to “open your eyes” to His Word.
• During a dedicated prayer time, confess your sins from the day to God and ask for his forgiveness and ask Him to change your heart to make you more like Him. Pray for your needs, your kids and for the needs of others. Pray for your counselor so that God would give him wisdom and power to counsel you. Pray for your own heart to be receptive to God’s conviction.
• Paraphrase Colossians 1:9-14, Ephesians 1:16-19 or Ephesians 3:17-19a into a personalized prayer. Write it on index cards. Pray these verses for your loved ones (or enemies) daily.
• Take time to look up into the sky and praise God for His majesty at least once every day. Acknowledge His attributes (i.e. love, patience, power, wisdom, sovereignty, compassion, mercy, grace, omniscience).

For the counselee who wants to teach her children to pray out loud, the following structure can provide confidence in her teaching:

• Instruct the children to close their eyes to shut out distractions and to think about talking to God; not about the people in the room. Kneeling in front of a couch, chair or a bed is a great way to demonstrate humility before the Almighty. Go around the room giving each family member an opportunity to thank God out loud for one thing. One parent can begin and the other parent can close. After a few times, increase the one item of thanksgiving to two items. The next step would be to add a request for something that is needed, later increasing it to two requests. After a time, confession of sin can be added as well as praises for God’s attributes. Soon the structure will not be needed. The children will know how to pray.
• Collateral Reading

When biblical counselors talk about “Collateral Reading” they are referring to the reading of a theologically-sound book, article or pamphlet written by a human author and relevant to the counselee’s problem. In addition to continued Bible study, then, the counselee ought to be taught the importance of continually reading books on solid biblical doctrine. Books approved by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) have been read by biblical scholars for biblical accuracy before being released for counselors’ use. Although there are no humans that are infallible, a counselor can proceed quite confidently that ACBC approved books are written from a perspective where the telos of the Scriptures used is accurate. It should be noted here that the counselor ought to make it his aim that he will routinely read ACBC approved books on an on-going basis for his own personal growth and equipping for ministry.

As with Bible reading, the counselee should be directed to interact with the text of the collateral reading assignment.  Some books include discussion questions at the end of a chapter or within the text of the chapter. Discussion guides are available with other books. If so, these questions can be used as homework assignments to guide the reading and the application of what is read. But often a reading assignment does not include questions for the reader. One option that the counselor has in these cases is to prepare questions in advance that can be assigned. Another option is for the counselor to assign the reading along with an instruction such as one of the following: [12]

• Write down five questions from the reading that you would like to discuss.
• Highlight the ten most important statements and prioritize them. Come prepared to explain why you prioritized them as you did.
• Choose the most important statement for you to apply in your life right now.
• List three specific steps you can take in order to integrate the teaching in the reading assignment into your life. Record the results in your journal.
• Highlight three principles for living the Christian life. Choose one to work on. Come prepared to discuss making a plan to integrate the principle into your life.
• Highlight one thing that you learned from the reading and come prepared to discuss its significance in your life.
• Answer the question, “What am I going to change about myself as the result of this reading?” Be prepared to point to the text that prompted your thinking.
• Answer the question, “How does this reading give you hope or encouragement?”

When it comes to collateral reading, the counselor must again bear in mind what the counselee’s work load is. Assigning three or four chapters in a book along with other assignments is generally not wise. Typically, if a counselee is reading a book, only one or two chapters should be assigned per week, depending on the length of the chapter, the counselee’s academic level, her lifestyle and other considerations. A “Recommended Reading List for Biblical Counselors and Counselees” is provided online [13] to assist in planning collateral reading assignments.

• Church Attendance

God has given us His church to aid in our sanctification, as well as His Spirit, His Word and the privilege of prayer. The church is the community of saints for whom Christ died (Eph. 1:1, 22, 3:6-10, 21, 4:25, 5:23-30). The purposes of the church might be articulated as:

• Ministry to God: Worship
• Ministry to Believers: Nurture
• Ministry to the World: Evangelism and Mercy [14]

Because our very purpose for existence is the worship of God, the first purpose of the church is worship. Counselees must be held accountable to being involved in regular public worship as well as private worship individually at home. Because God uses the church to “nurture those who are … believers and build them up to maturity in the faith,” [15] counselees must be held accountable to sitting under the teaching of the word and to be involved in the church community. Paul explained in his letter to the Ephesians that gifts are given to each of Christ’s followers “for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). This means that a counselee, if she is saved, has gifts to offer to the body of Christ as well as the privilege of receiving help from others. Counselees should, therefore, be held accountable to being involved in small groups and in service. Finally, God has designed the church to be a “light” in the darkness; a light whereby the lost world experiences the love of God in Christ (Matt. 5:14-16). If saved, the counselee has the responsibility to be an active part of the evangelistic effort of the church.

The church is God’s providential plan for the sanctification of His people and His divine power is demonstrated through His church. Counselees ought not to attempt to be unattached from the community of believers. Counselors must, therefore, ensure that the church is woven through the counselee’s life and that the counselee’s life is woven through the church. This is accomplished through homework assignments such as:

• Take notes in Sunday’s sermon (or Bible study group, for example). Choose one thing that you plan to do as the result of what you heard and learned and prepare to discuss what you have written at the next session.
• Research the various small study groups available and choose one to join. Be prepared in two weeks to report about the first session that you attended.
• Research the various ministries in the church and choose one in which to serve. Be prepared to report who is the ministry leader, what you will be doing and when you will begin serving.
• Be on time for the Sunday worship service. Write down the time you sat down in your seat and bring it to the next session. If late for worship, write down how many people your late entrance disturbed from their worship (this is most useful for counselees who have a habit of arriving late for worship).

An assigned project might involve acquiring materials for future counseling assignments such as a particular book, index cards or a notebook. A project might entail practicing a specific behavior throughout the week. It might include viewing a relevant video, signing up for a class or Bible study, seeking forgiveness from someone they have offended, maintaining a record of how time is spent over the course of the week, writing a letter to someone, starting a praise or prayer journal or drafting a transformation plan. Transformation plans are discussed more fully in Chapter 7.

Purposes that Drive Homework Assignments

While utilizing the six aspects of homework assignments as discussed above, the counselor must continually ask himself, “Why am I assigning this?” Every assignment should have one or more identifiable purposes and those purposes might include:

• Instilling hope and encouragement
• Knowing, trusting, loving and serving God more
• Gathering data
• Identifying personal sin patterns or heart motives
• Addressing sin patterns or heart idol issues by developing a plan for overcoming sin or providing practice opportunities for putting off sinful behavior and putting on righteousness in its place
• Renewing the mind (gaining God’s perspective; correct wrong thinking)
• Providing opportunities for the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin
• Preparation for a future session

Hope should be woven throughout each session as well as throughout each homework assignment. There are multiple examples of homework assignments that build hope presented in Chapter 5. Studies and reading assignments on God’s character provide opportunity for growth in the area of knowing, trusting, loving and serving God more. There is a “God’s Attributes” study as well as a “God’s Sovereignty” available online. [16]

Journals are a prime example of homework that gathers data for the counselor but at the same time, can aid the counselee. A journal involves asking oneself specific questions about comfortable habits that are done automatically by the counselee, often without awareness. Figure 6.1 provides an example of a journal form that might be used to gather data and to help the counselee identify behavior patterns.

In addition to journals, the counselor may assign a series of questions to be answered by the counselee. In an article published in The Journal of Biblical Counseling , David Powlison coined the term “X-ray Questions” [17] referring to questions that can expose heart motives. Listed below are some examples of such questions:

• What do you love? Hate?
• What do you want, desire, crave, lust, and wish for? What desires do you serve and obey?
• What do you seek, aim for, pursue? What are your goals and expectations?
• Where do you bank your hopes?
• What do you fear? What do you not want? What do you tend to worry about?
• What do you think you need?
• Where do you find refuge, safety, comfort, escape, pleasure, security?
• What or who do you trust?
• What would bring you the greatest pleasure, happiness and delight? The greatest pain and misery?
• What do you see as your rights? What do you feel entitled to?
• In what situations do you feel pressured or tense? Confident and relaxed?

Above is a mere sampling of Powlison’s questions that provide a “window” for peering into the heart. Additional questions can be found in figure 2.2, “Questions that Probe.”

Another form of a homework assignment that affords significant data to the counselor is the use of resources that provide checklists for the counselee’s self-examination. Two key resources that are highly recommended are:

• From Pride to Humility by Stuart Scott
• Transformed Into His Likeness by Armand P. Tiffe

In figure 6.4 a checklist of potential heart idol themes can be found. This checklist can be reproduced and assigned to a counselee. It will provide insight for both the counselor and the counselee. In addition, a four-page reproducible homework packet entitled “Attitudes” containing a similar checklist assignment is provided online. [18]

Figure 6.4. Potential heart idol themes

Identifying sin patterns and heart idols can be accomplished through data gathering assignments as discussed above. Additionally, relevant Bible and collateral reading and Scripture memorization provide opportunities for the Holy Spirit to convict the counselee of her sin. When the counselor sees a sin pattern in a counselee that the counselee has not yet identified, rather than pointing a finger at the counselee and saying, “I notice this sin pattern in your life,” it is often helpful to assign Scripture reading with a telos directed to the particular sin pattern and pray that the Holy Spirit convicts the counselee, assisting in her identification of her own sinful behavior. Collateral reading and media resources directed toward a particular sin pattern can also be assigned to prepare the counselee for a future session where they will be addressing a sin issue. Once heart idols and sin patterns are identified by the counselee, a transformation plan should be constructed together by the counselee and counselor to promote the putting off of sin patterns, the putting on of righteousness and renewal of the mind. Chapter 7 provides details for developing transformation plans that address sin patterns and heart idols.

There is much more that can be said about homework and resources are continually being developed to help counselors and their counselees to grow in the various areas where change is needed. The astute counselor will regularly read biblical counseling articles, blogs and books and attend classes and conferences as well as maintaining a regular Bible study routine in order to gain more understanding on how to glorify God through biblical discipleship.

[1] www.bctoolkit.net.

[2] Tripp, Instruments , 319.

[3] Jay E. Adams, “Biblical Interpretation and Counseling, Part 2,” The Journal of Biblical Counseling Volume 17, Number 1 (Fall, 1998): 30.

[5] Adams, Interpretation , 29.

[6] Ibid., 23.

[7] Somerville, 74.

[8] Strong, (G2588).

[9] Elyse Fitzpatrick , Idols of the Heart (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2001), 93.

[10] Fitzpatrick, 96.

[11] Ibid., 93-96.

[12] Adapted by Nanette Loveless from Robert Somerville’s SCF, 58.

[13] www.bctoolkit.net .

[14] Grudem, 867.

[15] Grudem, 867.

[16] www.bctoolkit.net.

[17] David Powlison, “X-ray Questions: Drawing Out the Whys and Wherefores of Human Behavior,” The Journal of Biblical Counseling Volume 18, Number 1 (Fall, 1999): 2-9.

[18] www.bctoolkit.net.

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