Behavioural Experiment Worksheet
Design, carry out, and reflect on behavioural experiments to test anxious predictions and unhelpful beliefs.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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Behavioural Experiment Worksheet
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Before you begin
A behavioural experiment is a way of treating a belief as a hypothesis - a guess about how things work - and gathering real-world evidence to test how accurate or helpful it is, rather than assuming it is simply true.
Your experiments
Plan each experiment before you do it (Prediction and Plan), then complete the Outcome and Next-step boxes afterwards. Add a new entry for each experiment you run.
1. Prediction
2. Experiment plan
3. Outcome
4. Learning & next step
1. Prediction
2. Experiment plan
3. Outcome
4. Learning & next step
What you have learned overall
Look back across your experiments.
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When to use the Behavioural Experiment Worksheet
The Behavioural Experiment Worksheet is an interactive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) worksheet. As a core CBT skill it is used right across the model, with presentations including depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma and low self-esteem, rather than being tied to a single diagnosis.
It is designed to be used within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it, works through it collaboratively, and helps make sense of what it surfaces. You can preview the full worksheet above, then assign it digitally for clients to complete between sessions on any device — or download it as a print-ready PDF.
How it works
Most people work through it in around 25 minutes. It moves through three short steps:
- Before you begin — A behavioural experiment is a way of treating a belief as a hypothesis - a guess about how things work - and gathering real-world evidence…
- Your experiments — Plan each experiment before you do it (Prediction and Plan), then complete the Outcome and Next-step boxes afterwards. Add a new entry for…
- What you have learned overall — Look back across your experiments.
Completed on the Formulate platform, your client's answers are saved automatically and shared straight back to you, so you can review them before the next session rather than waiting for a paper copy to come back.
The CBT approach behind it
In common with other CBT methods, the Behavioural Experiment Worksheet works by testing fearful predictions through real-world behavioural experiments. The aim is not positive thinking but a clearer, shared understanding of what keeps a difficulty going — and practical, testable ways to change it.
Because it is a CBT tool it stays focused on the here-and-now links between thoughts, feelings, the body and behaviour, and it works best as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis.
Evidence & sources
This worksheet is grounded in established cognitive behavioural therapy theory and practice. Key sources include:
- Beck, A.T., Rush, A.J., Shaw, B.F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Press.
- Greenberger, D. & Padesky, C.A. (2016). Mind Over Mood (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
- Wells, A. (1997). Cognitive Therapy of Anxiety Disorders. Chichester: Wiley.
For use alongside professional support
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- SANEline: 0800 689 5555 — 4:30pm–10:30pm, every day
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