CBT Thought Record Journal

About this template

The thought record is the core homework of cognitive behavioral therapy. You catch an automatic thought, rate how much you believe it, weigh the evidence on both sides, and write a more balanced thought to replace it. Done on paper it is awkward and rarely gets done. This template puts the seven columns in order, with the belief ratings as numbers the app charts, so a therapist can see across weeks whether the balanced thoughts are landing.

The cognitive distortion list is a multiple-choice question with the usual suspects: catastrophizing, mind reading, all-or-nothing thinking and the rest. Naming the distortion is half the work. This template is for anyone doing CBT, either with a therapist or from a workbook, and for people managing depression or anxiety who want a structured alternative to rumination.

How to use it

1. Fill it in as close to the moment as you can, or reconstruct it that evening.
2. Write the automatic thought as the exact words in your head, not a cleaned-up version.
3. Evidence against is the hard column. Ask what you would tell a friend who thought this.
4. Rate your belief in the original thought again at the end. Any drop counts.

What’s inside

6 prompts · 2 ratings · 2 numbers · 1 multiple choice. Every prompt is editable once it is in the app.

• Situation
• What happened
• What I felt
• How strong the feeling was rating
• The thought
• The automatic thought, in the exact words
• How much I believe it, 0 to 100 number
• Thinking traps in it multiple choice
• The evidence
• Evidence the thought is true
• Evidence it is not, or not the whole story
• A balanced thought
• A fairer way to see it
• How much I believe the original thought now number
• How strong the feeling is now rating

cbtthought recordcognitive distortionstherapydepression