In everyday CBT practice and reflective discussion, playful changes in voice can make a difficult thought feel less fixed, less believable, and easier to observe. The Characterisation Game gives a simple thought defusion activity for experimenting with how tone, accent, posture and performance alter the emotional impact of unwanted or distressing thoughts.
When an unwanted thought feels too serious, threatening or repetitive, the page helps you test what happens when the same sentence is spoken in deliberately exaggerated ways. It is a printable CBT thought defusion worksheet, also relevant for ACT defusion, cognitive distancing and unhelpful thought exercises.
The worksheet is structured as a table with columns for My Thought, Meaning, Feeling and Physical Sensations. Users write down the distressing thought, then repeat it using different characterisations, noticing whether the meaning, emotion or body sensations shift after each version.
The characterisations include Micky Mouse with hands on the head like mouse ears, Boris Johnson with pomp and bluster, hip-hop or rapping with a serious face, a strong Scottish accent with a quick jig, and operatic soprano or deep baritone while puffing out the chest.
Adults and older teenagers who are learning CBT skills may find it useful during therapy sessions, wellbeing work, coaching or home practice. Therapists, counsellors and mental health practitioners can use it as a light, experiential exercise for intrusive thoughts, anxious predictions, self-critical thinking or sticky negative beliefs.
