Free CBT and ACT Printable Worksheets for Values and Goals

In therapy sessions, supervision, or personal reflection, it can be helpful to map the moment where distress turns into either avoidance or values-based action. The ACT With Choice exercise gives a simple visual way to notice that choice point and respond more deliberately.

A clear two-page ACT choice point template helps people separate triggers, difficult feelings, away moves and towards moves on one printable sheet. It is especially suited to adults and older teenagers working with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, CBT, anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, low self-esteem, avoidance, rumination or unhelpful coping patterns.

The first page explains the model. It names the problem at the base, then shows how triggers can bring up unwanted feelings, thoughts, impulses, sensations and memories. From there, the person can move away from the problem through fusion, experiential avoidance, control, suppression, procrastination, denial, distraction or counter-productive habits.

The same page also sets out towards moves, including focused attention, reframing, acceptance, defusion, perspective-taking, observing self and committed action. The wording is practical enough for use in counselling, psychotherapy, coaching, mental health groups, wellbeing sessions or self-help reflection, without needing a long explanation alongside it.

The second page is a blank ACT worksheet for mapping someone’s own situation. It includes spaces for the problem, triggers, distressing feelings, internal and external strategies that move away from the problem, and actions that move towards values and goals. The repeated question, “Is this helpful, workable and sustainable?”, encourages realistic reflection rather than self-criticism.

Clinicians, therapists and clients could use it during a session, as homework between sessions, or as a printed prompt when reviewing a difficult week. It works well for people who already understand the basics of ACT and want a structured choice point exercise for building psychological flexibility and values-based behaviour. Created by Think CBT.

Helps people step back from anxiety and reconnect with the areas of life they want to protect, build and make room for. The printable CBT values exercise is easy to use in therapy sessions, at home or as a reflective mental health activity for adults and older teens who feel anxiety has taken over.

Adults, older teenagers and CBT clients working on anxiety, worry or avoidance are the clearest audience for The Big Picture Exercise V.03.09.21. It gives a simple big picture exercise for identifying valued life areas, making it useful for therapists, counsellors, wellbeing practitioners and people completing self-help work between sessions.

The first activity page shows eight thought bubbles already labelled with common priorities: close family, friendships, health and well-being, travelling, hobbies and interests, job or career, socialising and sports. A small box labelled anxiety sits separately, visually prompting the person to compare anxiety with the wider life they care about.

A second page offers the same thought-bubble layout without labels, so clients can personalise the exercise with their own values, relationships, responsibilities and interests. It works well as a printable CBT worksheet, values clarification tool, anxiety therapy handout or counselling prompt for people who find it hard to name what matters.

The final page provides a large blank frame headed The Big Picture Exercise, alongside the prompt about the things that are really important in my life. People could use it to draw, write key words, map priorities or create a fuller plan for moving attention and behaviour back towards meaningful areas. Created by Think CBT.

Clearer therapy goals make CBT sessions easier to focus, review and translate into everyday action. Designed for adults using cognitive behavioural therapy, counselling or self-help, this printable CBT goals worksheet helps turn vague aims such as feeling less anxious into practical “start” goals, SMART targets and manageable next steps.

In a CBT assessment session, counselling appointment or private reflection at home, the worksheet gives adults a structured way to decide what they want therapy to help them build, practise or re-engage with. It is especially relevant for people working on anxiety, panic attacks, worry, low confidence, assertiveness, resilience, relationships or meaningful daily routines.

The PDF explains the difference between “stop” goals and “start” goals, showing why goals such as “stop worrying” can be less useful than aims like improving emotional resilience or replacing worry with problem solving. It then introduces the SMART framework: Specific, Meaningful, Adaptive, Realistic and Timebound.

Worked examples show how a high-level therapy goal can be broken into small behavioural steps and linked with new CBT skills. The examples include managing panic and returning to travel, exercise, work and social activities, building assertiveness in difficult situations, and reconnecting with family, friends and valued activities.

A blank goal-setting table is included for writing three personal goals, practical actions and skills to learn. Clients can complete it before therapy, during an assessment, or between sessions, while therapists, CBT practitioners and counsellors can use it to make treatment planning more concrete. Produced by Think CBT.

When someone is preparing for therapy, recovery work or a personal change plan, naming their own strengths can be surprisingly difficult. This printable personal strengths worksheet gives adults and older teenagers a simple CBT-style exercise for identifying personal skills, positive qualities and supportive resources that may help with confidence, resilience and problem solving.

Greater clarity about strengths and personal resources is the main support offered here, especially for people who find it easier to notice problems than abilities. The exercise asks the user to think about what they see in themselves and what other people recognise in them, making it useful for self-esteem work, CBT homework, counselling sessions and wellbeing reviews.

The page contains a brief explanation followed by a large two-column table. One column is headed “Personal Skills / Qualities I Can Acknowledge in Myself”, and the other is headed “Skills / Qualities That Other People Recognise in Me”. This structure helps separate private self-belief from feedback, compliments or observations received from others.

Adults, older teens, therapy clients, coaches and mental health practitioners may use it as a strengths list, personal resources worksheet, confidence-building activity or recovery planning prompt. It could be completed at home before a session, filled in during CBT or counselling, or revisited when preparing for a difficult situation, goal or behaviour change.

The format is deliberately open, so entries can include qualities such as persistence, kindness, organisation, humour, courage, creativity, reliability or problem-solving. It also invites reflection on social evidence, which can be helpful when low mood, anxiety or self-criticism makes personal strengths feel less believable. Created by Think CBT.

In everyday CBT practice, a simple choice point can help people pause before reacting to difficult thoughts, emotions or urges. The CBT Junction Model gives adults, older teenagers and practitioners a printable way to compare mood-driven patterns with actions guided by values, goals, strengths and workable change.

Exercise 6, the CBT Junction Model, centres on a clear fork-in-the-road framework for noticing what happens after a trigger. It asks the user to separate two possible directions: acting according to mood, vulnerabilities or self-limitations, and acting according to purpose, values, goals and opportunities.

The left side is for writing down unhelpful thoughts, difficult emotions, counter-productive behaviours and avoidance patterns that keep a problem going. Searchers looking for a CBT worksheet, choice point exercise, behavioural activation prompt, avoidance cycle tool or values-based action worksheet are likely to recognise the layout quickly.

The right side supports a more workable response by prompting the person to identify strengths, personal wellbeing actions, realistic goals and different approaches they could try. It is especially suited to adults and older teenagers using CBT for anxiety, low mood, stress, avoidance, overthinking or unhelpful coping habits.

In therapy sessions, coaching, wellbeing support or personal reflection at home, the page can be printed and filled in around a specific trigger, such as a conflict, a task being avoided, a setback or a strong emotional reaction. The visual junction format makes it easier to compare short-term mood-led choices with helpful, sustainable behaviour. Created by Think CBT.

The personal values exercise gives a clear values clarification prompt for people who want to reconnect with identity, priorities and meaningful personal goals. It uses a simple checklist of values, with descriptions and importance ratings, making it useful as a printable CBT worksheet, ACT values exercise, therapy handout or coaching reflection tool.

In therapy sessions, coaching conversations or reflective work at home, the checklist can help adults and older teenagers name the values they want to live by rather than focusing only on goals or problems. It is especially suited to people exploring identity, motivation, recovery, personal growth or life direction.

The PDF is structured as a three-page personal values worksheet. It begins by explaining that goals are the “what”, while values provide the “why”. The main table then lists values such as accepting, authentic, caring, courageous, creative, emotionally aware, fairness, fitness, honesty, independent, orderly, respectful, self-disciplined, tenacious and trusted.

Each value includes a short description and three rating columns: highly important, moderately important and less important. That format makes it easy to use as a values assessment, values inventory, counselling worksheet or wellbeing activity, because the person can work through the list without needing long written answers at first.

Space is also included for additional values, which helps avoid making the list feel fixed or prescriptive. The final priority section asks which six values will be instrumental in achieving personal goals, encouraging a practical link between reflection and action.

Practitioners may use it during CBT, ACT-informed therapy, supervision or personal development work, while individuals can print it for journalling or goal-setting. It may be particularly helpful when choices feel unclear, when motivation has dropped, or when someone wants to check whether their daily behaviour still fits what matters to them. Created by Think CBT.