CBT What If Worksheet
By
HappierTherapy
Author bio
The Happier Therapy editorial team is made up of Masters and PhD counselling psychologists. Each worksheet is created by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The worksheet then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
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What is the theory behind this CBT What If worksheet?
‘What If…?’ Questions in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are also referred to as cognitive distortions or thinking errors. Individuals seeking therapy have a lot of these what if questions in their minds which are not just indicative of their worries and anxiety pertaining to an uncertain future but also thinking errors making them focus entirely on the negative aspects.
How will the worksheet help?
This worksheet will help clients note down the negative what if questions that are causing them to worry and replace them with positive what if questions. This exercise will help them shift their perspective and look at things from a positive aspect as well. It will also help the therapist identify the subjects of the client’s worries.
How to use the worksheet?
Instruct the client to first write down all the negative what if questions that they have in their mind. Then tell them to modify those questions and make them positive what if questions by thinking about the positive alternative of their expected negative outcomes.