Helps children and teenagers notice anxious or negative thoughts, name their feelings, and practise replacing unhelpful self-talk with kinder, more balanced thoughts. The printable thought record format gives a simple CBT-style structure for tracking triggers, emotions, automatic thoughts, positive alternatives and what happened afterwards.
This anxiety thought record worksheet is designed to help children and teens explore worried thoughts in a clear, manageable way. Parents, carers, school counsellors, therapists and teachers can use it to support conversations about anxiety, stress, low mood, negative self-talk and difficult situations at home, in school or during one-to-one support.
The printable PDF uses a simple table format with prompts for what happened, how the young person felt, the automatic thought that showed up, a kinder or more balanced thought to try, and what happened afterwards. It can be used as a CBT-style thought record, feelings diary, worry tracker or reflection worksheet, depending on the needs of the child or teenager.
Practical ways to use the worksheet include:
- In lessons or wellbeing activities to introduce the link between thoughts, feelings and behaviour
- As a downloadable worksheet for home learning, revision of coping skills or follow-up after a tricky moment
- During counselling, mentoring or therapy sessions to record examples and build a shared understanding of anxious thinking patterns
Young people can complete the sheet independently or with an adult, using short notes rather than long answers if that feels easier. It is also useful for planning next steps, reviewing progress over time, or creating a personal folder of coping strategies. View, download or print the worksheet to use whenever a structured anxiety reflection activity would be helpful. This resource was created by MyleMarks.com.
