Children and young people are supported to challenge anxious thoughts by treating the worry like a court case, looking for facts before choosing a more balanced thought. The worksheet is built around a CBT thought-challenging approach, helping users notice an unhelpful worry, check whether it is fully true, and replace it with something more realistic and helpful.
The main printable page is laid out as a “Worry Courtroom” with sections for “The Worry”, “Evidence for the Worry”, “Evidence Against the Worry”, “What Would You Tell a Friend?”, “The Verdict”, and “The Plan”. These prompts guide children through naming the anxious thought, exploring what makes it feel believable, finding facts that do not support it, and thinking about the kinder advice they might offer someone else in the same situation.
It is likely to be useful for social workers, school counsellors, therapists, pastoral staff, family support workers and parents supporting children or teens with anxiety, overthinking, reassurance-seeking, school worries, friendship worries or general negative thoughts. The courtroom theme gives the activity a concrete structure, which may suit children who find open-ended emotional conversations difficult.
In a session, it could be used as a CBT worksheet for anxiety, a worry challenge activity, a cognitive restructuring tool, or a printable thought record for children. At home or school, an adult could sit alongside the child and talk through each section, using the final “plan” box to choose one small action that supports the new helpful thought.
The worksheet also includes simple reminder statements such as “Worries are thoughts, not facts”, “I can look for evidence”, “I can choose a more helpful thought”, and “I can take things one step at a time”. The named creator on the PDF is Edita Stiborova.
