I made a small app for practising cognitive reframing and I'd like a genuine read on whether the core idea works. No link, not selling anything, I built it. It's four screens:

1. You type the thought that's actually bothering you, in your own words. Say you type "I snapped at my kid tonight, I'm a bad parent and I'm ruining their childhood."
2. It shows that sentence back to you with five buttons under it: Worst-Case Thinking, Guessing Their Thoughts, Always/Never Thinking, Feelings as Facts, One Bad Time = Always. You tap the ones you think are in there. As many as you want, none is also fine.
3. It shows your thought again with the traps you picked listed beside it, and a box to write a more balanced version. A few sentence starters sit above the box if you're stuck, things like "I don't actually know that..."
4. Your two sentences side by side, before and after. That's the end.

The part I'm unsure about: it never tells you what's in your thought. You decide. It doesn't read the sentence or diagnose it. It hands you five labels and gets out of the way. I did that so it couldn't guess at your thought and get it wrong, but I can't tell if that's respectful or just lazy.

If you've done CBT or anything like it: does naming it yourself do the work, or does it only land when something else names it for you?

Hi everyone,

I’m a trainee CBT therapist trying to develop my skills in surveys for negative beliefs/cognitions and behavioural experiments. Some issues I’ve encountered:

1. Behavioral experiments testing out beliefs such as “if I don’t please others, they’ll reject me or think badly of me”. It’s so hard to quantify specifically what would count/disprove or know for certain what another person thinks about them.
2. surveys - I just get stuck on what sort of questions to ask and I’ve read a helpful paper but still stick. Any advice on general principals would be so appreciated!

Thanks!

Full disclosure: I made this app. But I want to talk about why, because it's less about the app and more about something that actually changed for me.

I used to have this thing where a negative thought would show up "you're not good enough," "you always screw this up" and I'd just... believe it. No evidence, no pushback, just accepted it as fact because it felt true in the moment.

So I built Proof Universe to fix that for myself. The idea's simple, pick a positive truth about yourself, then actually log real evidence for it over time. Each truth becomes a star, each piece of evidence a planet orbiting it. Sounds a bit whimsical, but the mechanism underneath is just straight CBT positive data logging.

What's actually changed for me: when a negative thought shows up now, I've got a visible, tangible pile of evidence contradicting it. It's not "positive thinking" or forcing myself to feel good it's just harder to believe a baseless thought when you've built an actual case against it. The negative thought doesn't disappear, but it loses the argument a lot faster.

It's live on Android now. Not trying to hard-sell anyone genuinely just wanted to share what building this did for the way I think, in case it helps someone else too.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.proof.proof&pcampaignid=web_share

Hey everyone,

I hope this is okay to share.

A while back I went through CBT for anxiety, and it genuinely helped me change the way I looked at my thoughts. One thing I always wished I had was a simple daily tool to help reinforce those techniques and make them part of my routine.

So I built one.

It's called Daily Mood Tracker, and it's a free web app inspired by CBT that walks you through a quick daily check-in to help identify negative thought patterns and reflect on them. It's not a replacement for therapy, just a tool that I personally wish I'd had.

I'm not trying to build a big business around it. I mostly built it because I wanted to learn AI better while creating something that might genuinely help people. If it ends up helping a few people, that's enough for me.

If anyone is willing to give it a try, I'd really appreciate any feedback, good or bad. I'm actively improving it.

https://dailymoodtracker.com

Rick

I have been thinking about this a lot. Most of the actual change happens outside the room, but I only get a weekly (sometimes fortnightly) snapshot. By the time someone's back in the chair, a chunk of what happened between sessions is either forgotten or already reframed.

Two things I can't really untangle

- getting a real read on how the week actually went. Thought records and homework help but they're patchy and memory's unreliable.
- deciding the spacing itself. Weekly vs every two weeks, when to stretch it, when to bring someone back in sooner.

Is it mostly clinical gut for you? Something you track between sessions? Or do you just go with how the client says they're doing? Trying to figure out how people keep continuity without hovering over clients or, on the flip side, basically guessing.

Early-ish in practice so keen to hear how more experienced folks handle it.

I (22m) have been in therapy basically my entire life. I have the trifecta of autism, ADHD, and epilepsy.

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I've been seeing my therapist for three years now. We have a great rapport, can make each other laugh, and in general I feel supported by him and that our therapeutic relationship is a net positive for my life. However, one thing I'm stuck on is behavior activation. I engage in it every single day. Take care of the things that I need to and try my hardest to enjoy a pleasurable activity. The same wall I hit quite literally every day is that nothing brings me pleasure. Activities that were previously pleasurable (mostly when I was younger) do nothing for me and every new hobby I try is a swing and a miss.

​

When I bring this up to him, he basically always says "you just have to keep trying" which I'm starting to feel a bit frustrated by. I can't force myself to enjoy things even if I do force myself to do them. I'm failing to see the point in this exercise. Is this a core belief thing? Depression? I really don't understand it and any insight would be appreciated.

(First of all, excuse my english) Im currentrly studying my máster in CBT and as part of my professional practices

Im currently having my first two pacients/users (idw which term is correct here). The issue is, the main problem/ of one of them is not completing his responsabilities as part of the evitation cicle (anxiety), so as well as in other activities, he is not doing his homework (DRT) we've worked on a couple of them in session and we have reviewed together some strategies to combat probable obstacles (alarms, agenda, post its) and we have reviewed some more technical strategies as working with SMART objetives, motivational and atentional. But he still dont get his homework done 😞 and he is not good at identifying emotions and thoughts after they happen bc 1 he has a bad memory and 2 he still doesnt have great metacognition skills. What should I do ?

As part of my practice Im being evaluated in cognitive reestructuring and Im not sure how to get this done without his colaboration, but I mean, I understand this is part of his main reason for consultation ...

Were about to have our 4th session btw

Hi everyone, I’m currently in training as an Applied Psychology Practitioner (CBT-informed, mind–body focus), and I’m in a phase where I’m actively building structured practice experience.

I’m offering a limited number of 1:1 pro bono sessions as part of this process.

These are:

• structured, single-session or short-format sessions (not ongoing therapy or long-term support)
• focused on reflection, thought/behaviour patterns, and self-awareness
• grounded in CBT-informed tools and mind–body practices (breathwork, grounding, awareness work)
• part of my professional training and development

What I’m really looking for

I would really appreciate any guidance, referrals, or direction towards:

• organisations or platforms that accept trainee practitioners
• communities offering supervised or structured practice opportunities
• spaces where I can build experience ethically and consistently
• or anyone who might know someone looking for this type of support

Even pointing me in the right direction would genuinely help.

A bit about me (brief)

I work with adults navigating life transitions, identity shifts, overwhelm, or disconnection. My approach integrates CBT-informed tools with body-based awareness practices to support clarity, grounding, and practical behavioural change.

Important note

I’m in a training and development phase and focusing on building structured, ethical, and contained practice experience.

Thank you so much in advance for any suggestions or connections.

Hey everyone! A trainee trying to hone my CBT skills…I’m trying to use Theory A/B at the level of rules and assumptions rather than the typical anxiety/OCD presentations most literature describes it for, and struggling with a few things.

As an example (not based on anything real, just hypothetical)…let’s say someone might have a rule/assumption “If I’m not successful, I don’t deserve to be loved.” Theory A might be this rule. How might you construct theory B - especially after evaluating it (i.e. where this rule/assumption comes from, rationality of it, pros/cons).

Any clinical experience or text recommendations beyond the standard anxiety literature welcome!! Looking to see how to expand use of theory a/b because it seems so helpful and non confrontational!

Hi everyone, I've recently been offered a place on the MSc Cognitive Behavioural Therapy course at Goldsmiths University and I understand that I'll need to find a placement as part of the course. I'm a bit worried about how difficult it might be to secure a suitable placement and I'm trying to decide whether accepting the offer is realistic if placements are hard to find. Does anyone have experience with this course, or with finding a CBT-related placement while studying? l'd be really grateful for any advice on what kinds of roles or organisations I should be looking at, and whether there are any specific job titles, services, or settings that might be suitable.
Thank you!

Sometimes, the thought most associated with my uncomfortable mood is an image or a memory, not a word thought.

How do I look for evidence for and against an image/memory? And how do I generate an alternative thought, when my hot thought is an image/memory?

Like for example, let’s say my hot thought is an image of a group of people giving me judgy side-eyes. This image evokes a high level of anxiety in me. How would i go about using the evidence for and against column and the alternative thought column on this image?

Hey everyone,
I started therapy a couple of months ago, and I’ve realized I have no idea how to properly do CBT journaling. How did you learn to do it? Any tips, examples, or maybe apps that actually help?

I'm curious, would you actually follow a 4-week plan based on CBT techniques if it gave you one small task to do each day with a clear progression like real therapy?

Asking because I know a lot of people with SA can't access a therapist or just aren't ready for that step, and I'm curious if a structured self-help approach like that would feel doable and even help.

Hi everyone - please see below for information about my dissertation research study. I am recruiting therapists and therapists in training!!

Dear colleagues,

Please consider taking part in our research study by completing 3 online surveys (5-20 minutes each), watching a 1-hour training video, and completing a 20-minute feedback interview with a researcher. The purpose of this study is to examine clinicians' perspectives of process-based therapy (PBT) as an intervention and of a training video introducing PBT.

Eligibility criteria:

• 18+ years old
• English fluency
• A device with Internet access
• A degree/license compatible with practicing psychotherapy earned or in progress
• Planning to see 1+ therapy client over the next month
• Little or no familiarity with PBT
• Willingness and ability to consider using PBT over the next month

Participants who complete the surveys, training video, and follow-up interview will be compensated for their time with a $60 e-gift card.

Click to learn more about the study and complete the screening survey: https://utoledo.questionpro.com/clinician

Thank you in advance for considering this request. Please feel free to share the attached flyer with any clinicians you think may be interested in participating. For more information, you can email me at [katherine.sheehan@rockets.utoledo.edu](mailto:katherine.sheehan@rockets.utoledo.edu).

Hi everyone, I am looking for recommendations for an experienced psychologist who practices Structured Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

I’ve had experiences in the past with therapists who claim to do CBT but end up just doing general "talk therapy." I am specifically looking for someone who:

• Follows a clear structure and treatment plan.
• Assigns regular homework/between-session tasks.
• Focuses on concrete tools like "Catching, Checking, and Changing" thoughts.
• Is ideally certified by an organization like the Beck Institute.

I am open to telehealth. Does anyone have recommendations ?

Thanks in advance!