3 REBT Worksheets

Worksheets can make a great addition to REBT for clients or a satisfactory substitute
for therapy in people with milder issues.

Check out these three worksheets on REBT techniques below.

1. Increasing awareness of cognitive distortions

Although it’s not necessarily an REBT-exclusive technique, this worksheet can fit in
nicely with an REBT focus. It guides the user through identifying the cognitive
distortions (irrational beliefs) that they hold.

First, the worksheet lists 11 of the most common cognitive distortions:

 All-or-nothing thinking
 Overgeneralizing
 Discounting the positive
 Jumping to conclusions
 Mind reading
 Fortune telling
 Magnifying (catastrophizing) or minimizing
 Emotional reasoning
 Should statements
 Labeling and mislabeling
 Personalization

Once the user reads through the common cognitive distortions and some examples,
they can move on to the worksheet. It’s split into three columns with instructions for
each:

1. Feelings – Write down what feelings you are experiencing; these can include
emotions and physical sensations.
2. Thoughts – Notice what thoughts are associated with your feelings and write
those down here.
3. Cognitive distortions – Analyze your thoughts; is there a cognitive distortion
there, or are your thoughts rational?

Take a few minutes each day to complete a row in this worksheet for at least one
week, and you will improve your ability to identify your irrational beliefs, which is
the first step toward correcting them. You can find the Increasing Awareness of
Cognitive Distortions worksheet in the Positive Psychology Toolkit.

2. Leaving the Comfort Zone

This worksheet will help educate the user on the four zones and motivate them to step
outside of the comfort zone.

First, it defines the four zones:

1. Comfort zone: the space in which we feel safe and in control; things are easy,
and we know what to do.
2. Fear zone: an uncomfortable space marked by uncertainty; we don’t know
what to expect or what to do.
3. Learning zone: another uncomfortable space, but not as bad as the fear zone;
we begin to acquire new skills and expand our comfort zone.
4. Growth zone: when we stay in the learning zone long enough, it becomes the
growth zone, where we become comfortable with our new skills and
experience.

Next, it directs the user to identify a comfort zone situation. It should be something
coming up that will require the user to step out of the comfort zone and into the fear
zone.

Once the user has identified a situation, they are instructed to identify their personal
signs of fear or symptoms of their experience with fear.

In addition to noting the signs of fear, the user should identify what they would lose
out on by not stepping into the fear zone. What opportunities or new potential benefits
would they miss out on?

Further, the user should note the long-term possibilities of staying in the learning
zone. How might they transform as a person? What could they gain from being in this
zone over time?

Finally, the user finishes the worksheet by reflecting on how they would feel about
themselves if they stuck it out in the growth zone, and how it would affect their
relationships with others.
This worksheet can help users reframe their thoughts about their fears and face them.
You can find it in the Positive Psychology Toolkit.

3. Challenging questions worksheet

This worksheet can help the user question their irrational beliefs and stop them in
their tracks.

First, it lists 10 common irrational beliefs that users may recognize in themselves:

1. I am only as good as what I achieve.

2. If they don’t love me, then I’m worthless.
3. Other people should follow the rules I know to be right.
4. It’s not okay to have this feeling. I should just be happy.
5. The problems in this relationship are all my fault/their fault.
6. This situation is hopeless; nothing will ever improve.
7. If this person doesn’t like me, then other people must feel the same way.
8. I must be able to do it all; if I can’t, then there’s something wrong with me.
9. My life is too hard. Life shouldn’t be this difficult and frustrating.
10.Anger is not safe; I must not let myself get angry about this.

Then, it lists 12 challenging questions the user can use to confront their irrational
belief:

1. What is the evidence for or against this idea?

2. Am I confusing habit with a fact?
3. Are my interpretations of the situation too far removed from reality to be
accurate?
4. Am I thinking in all-or-nothing terms?
5. Am I using words or phrases that are extreme or exaggerated
like always, forever, never, need, should, must, can’t, and every time?
6. Am I taking selected examples out of context?
7. Am I making excuses? I’m not afraid; I just don’t want to go out. The other
people expect me to be perfect. I don’t want to make the call because I don’t
have time.
8. Is the source of information reliable?
9. Am I thinking in terms of certainties instead of probabilities?
10.Am I confusing a low probability with a high probability?
11.Are my judgments based on feelings rather than facts?
12.Am I focusing on irrelevant factors?
The worksheet leaves space for the user to pick one belief and four challenging
questions to answer with a new, healthier perspective on the irrational belief.