Is this coping strategy taking me towards what matters?
Explore what one coping strategy does for you now and over time, and whether it helps you move towards what matters to you.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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Is this coping strategy taking me towards what matters?
PreviewLive preview — type in any field to try it. Nothing is saved here.
One strategy in its setting
Include the difficulty you are responding to and what you hope the strategy will do.
What happens when you use it
Relief can be useful. Costs can be real too. Base your account on experience and name what you cannot yet tell.
Does it serve your direction here?
The same response may work in one setting and limit you in another. Rest, boundaries, practical problem-solving and protection can all be workable.
A small trial, if you choose
No change is also a choice. Keep necessary care and protection in place.
Try it here — nothing you type is saved. Sign up to assign it and let clients complete it on any device.
When to use ‘Is this coping strategy taking me towards what matters?’
‘Is this coping strategy taking me towards what matters?’ is an interactive acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) worksheet. Consider this resource when a client is caught up in difficult thoughts or feelings and wants to explore actions that fit what matters to them.
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 15 minutes. It moves through four short steps:
- One strategy in its setting: Include the difficulty you are responding to and what you hope the strategy will do.
- What happens when you use it: Relief can be useful. Costs can be real too. Base your account on experience and name what you cannot yet tell.
- Does it serve your direction here? The same response may work in one setting and limit you in another. Rest, boundaries, practical problem-solving and protection can all be…
- A small trial, if you choose: No change is also a choice. Keep necessary care and protection in place.
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 ACT approach behind it
‘Is this coping strategy taking me towards what matters?’ draws on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). ACT centres on psychological flexibility: making room for experience while choosing actions guided by values. Acceptance involves willingness to experience thoughts and feelings; defusion means noticing thoughts as thoughts. Attention to the present moment and committed action connect these ideas with choices in daily life.
It is intended as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis. The therapist can help decide how it fits the work and discuss what emerges.
Evidence & sources
This worksheet draws on acceptance and commitment therapy. Key sources include:
- Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change. Guilford Press.
- Harris, R. (2019). ACT Made Simple: An Easy-to-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. New Harbinger Publications.
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
- NHS 111 (NHS 24 in Scotland): 111 — choose the mental health option for urgent help, in England, Scotland and Wales (in Wales, press 2)
- Lifeline: 0808 808 8000 — for urgent help in Northern Ireland, free, day or night
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- Shout: 85258 — text SHOUT, free, day or night
- SANEline: 0300 304 7000 — 4pm–10pm, every day
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