> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Thought record > Beck's 5-column cognitive restructuring worksheet — situation, thought, evidence, balanced thought, re-rating. The thought record is the central CBT intervention. A trigger happened, an automatic thought followed, an emotion landed — and you sit with the client to examine the evidence, write a more even way to look at it, and re-rate the belief and the feeling. Beck published this in 1979 and it still does most of the work of cognitive restructuring forty-five years later. Rivet uses the 5-column version (10 fields, four sections) in plain client-facing language. ## What it captures Four sections, each one a discrete piece of the cognitive model. ### Situation A single textarea — *What was happening?* The trigger event, in the client's own words. The anchor for everything that follows. ### Your thought and feeling Four fields: * The emotion, named simply * Emotion intensity, 0-10 slider (none → worst) * The automatic thought — the actual sentence that went through their mind * Belief in the thought, 0-10 slider (not at all → completely) The belief rating is the number that has to move. ### Examine the evidence Three textareas: * What points to the thought being true * What points the other way * A more even way to look at it — the balanced thought The order matters. Evidence-for goes first deliberately. Asking what's *true* about the thought before challenging it keeps the work non-invalidating, which matters for clients who hear "let's challenge that thought" as "you're wrong to feel that way." ### After Two sliders: * Belief in the balanced thought, 0-10 * Emotion intensity now, 0-10 If both moved, the restructuring landed. If neither moved, the thought wasn't the right target — or the work is just starting. ## When to use it Introduced session 2-4 of CBT after psychoeducation about the cognitive model. Done as homework between sessions (3-7 entries per week is typical), then reviewed at the top of the next session. Returned to repeatedly over a 12-20 session course — the same client may complete 30-60 records across treatment. In-session use is for the first few — you walk through one example with the client to teach the structure. After that, the work is between sessions, with the in-session time spent reviewing what the client brought. ## In-session mechanics Open **Thought record** from the top-right corner (**Clinical templates ▾**). As the client describes the situation, type into the situation field. As they describe the thought, the automatic-thought field. The sliders are a natural conversation prompt — *"how much did you believe that thought, zero to ten?"* The whole record copies to the clipboard from the response detail. Paste it into your session note and the thought record becomes part of the documentation without any retyping. ## Citation Beck, A. T. (1979). *Cognitive Therapy of Depression.* Guilford Press. Modern canonical reference: Beck, J. S. (2020). *Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond* (3rd ed.). Guilford Press. The 5-column thought-record structure is published clinical method, uncopyrightable. All field labels and prompts in Rivet's thought record are original — plain-language phrasing ("What was happening?", "A more even way to look at it") was chosen deliberately over clinical-jargon style ("Situation", "Alternative Response") for trauma-informed-design fit. ## When not to use it * **Acute trauma processing.** Cognitive restructuring of a fresh trauma memory can feel invalidating and is usually contraindicated until later in trauma-focused treatment. Use the [stuck point log](/clinical-templates/cbt/stuck-point-log) inside CPT, or shift to a trauma-specific modality (EMDR, PE, NET). * **Strong emotion is still active in the room.** If the client is too flooded to engage the rational examination, do a grounding piece first (the [SUDS check-in](/clinical-templates/cbt/suds-check-in) before and after a brief grounding can scaffold this) and come back to the record when the client is regulated. * **The thought is true.** The point of the worksheet is to test whether a thought is balanced, not to talk a client out of accurate appraisals. Problem solving or values work is often a better fit. ## Related articles Eleven common thinking patterns the automatic thought might fit. When the thought has a testable real-world prediction. The CPT cousin for trauma-related stuck beliefs.