CBT presets — 7 worksheets

Seven cognitive-behavioral worksheets, each one a standard tool you’d recognize from any CBT training. Drop one onto the canvas and start working; every label, box, and arrow is editable.

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CBT triangle

The Beck cognitive-behavioral triangle. Thoughts at the top, Feelings bottom-right, Behaviors bottom-left, with bidirectional arrows between every pair to show that influence runs both ways. Use it for: intro psychoeducation on the cognitive model. The diagram does the teaching — once the client sees that changing any one of the three nodes can shift the others, the whole orientation toward CBT work clicks into place. Drop it early in CBT-focused work. It’s the diagram every subsequent worksheet (thought record, downward arrow, hot cross bun) extends from.

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Cognitive distortions

A reference card listing the 10 standard Beck/Burns distortions, each with a one-line example:

• All-or-nothing
• Overgeneralization
• Mental filter
• Discounting positives
• Jumping to conclusions
• Catastrophizing
• Emotional reasoning
• Should statements
• Labeling
• Personalization

Use it for: identifying which patterns show up in the client’s automatic thoughts. Read through together; the client points to the ones they recognize. Pairs naturally with a thought record — drop both and work between them.

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Downward arrow

A vertical column of prompts, each one connected to the next by a downward arrow: “The thought:” → “If true, what would that mean about you?” → “And if THAT were true…?” → “The core belief:”. Use it for: drilling from a surface-level automatic thought to the underlying schema or core belief. Especially useful in second-stage CBT when the client has identified an automatic thought pattern but you’re trying to surface the schema feeding it. The top and bottom boxes are highlighted — start with the surface thought at the top, work down to the core belief at the bottom.

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ABC model

Three-box behavioral chain: Antecedent → Behavior → Consequence. Color-coded boxes connected by arrows. Use it for: functional analysis of a specific behavior, especially in behavioral activation, exposure planning, or any work where you’re mapping a behavior in context. Pairs well with a target-identification conversation: which behavior do we want to change, and what’s keeping it in place?

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Thought record

The standard five-column CBT worksheet: Situation · Automatic thought · Emotion (0-100) · Evidence for/against · Balanced thought. Empty cells below the headers for filling in during session. Use it for: in-session work where the client (with you or independently) walks through a recent distressing thought, rates the emotion, weighs the evidence, and tries on a more balanced version. Flip Two-way ON and the client can fill in the cells themselves — often more powerful than you transcribing. See letting your client draw.

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Evidence for / against

A two-column grid for testing a specific thought against the available evidence. Evidence for in green on the left, Evidence against in red on the right, with a “thought” box on top and a “balanced view” box on the bottom. Use it for: a more focused version of the thought record — when the client has one specific cognition they’re stuck on, and you want to slow down and test it carefully. Often a follow-up to a thought record when one row needs more work.

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Hot cross bun (Padesky & Greenberger)

A central situation surrounded by four nodes — Thoughts, Feelings, Behaviors, Body sensations — with bidirectional arrows between each node and the center. Use it for: extending the CBT triangle to include somatic experience. The hot cross bun adds the body node, which makes it the right diagram for anxiety, trauma-informed CBT, or any presentation where physical sensations are part of the maintenance cycle. It’s the diagram to reach for when “Thoughts → Feelings → Behaviors” flattens out the somatic side of what the client is experiencing.

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