My change plan
Put a change you choose into your own words, with reasons, first steps, support and room to adjust the plan.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
Assign and Download open signup, then return you to this worksheet. No card required. Resource access depends on your plan or trial. Already have an account? Sign in
Worksheet preview
My change plan
PreviewLive preview — type in any field to try it. Nothing is saved here.
The change you choose
This is your plan, not a promise to someone else.
Make the plan workable
You can change the plan after reviewing what you need.
Try it here — nothing you type is saved. Sign up to assign it and let clients complete it on any device.
When to use the My change plan
The My change plan is an interactive motivational interviewing (MI) worksheet, for work with substance misuse. Consider this resource when a client feels ambivalent about change and wants space to explore their own reasons, the importance of change and their confidence in it.
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 20 minutes. It moves through two short steps:
- The change you choose: This is your plan, not a promise to someone else.
- Make the plan workable: You can change the plan after reviewing what you need.
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 MI approach behind it
The My change plan draws on motivational interviewing (MI). MI is a collaborative conversation about ambivalence, including reasons to change and reasons to keep things as they are. The therapist listens for the client’s own reasons and respects their choice about what happens next. Exploring importance and confidence can distinguish wanting change from feeling able to attempt it, without turning the conversation into persuasion.
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 motivational interviewing. Key sources include:
- Miller, W. R. & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change. Guilford Press.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2019). Enhancing Motivation for Change in Substance Use Disorder Treatment. Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series 35.
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
More Substance Misuse worksheets
View all Substance Misuse worksheets →Substance Misuse
Functional analysis of substance use
Explore the triggers, thoughts, feelings and consequences linked to substance use, to understand what it does for you. Based on Marlatt and Donovan (2005): an episode-by-episode analysis, with a craving rating and a resisted-urge prompt added.
Substance Misuse
Decisional balance
Weigh up the pros and cons of continuing to use substances and of making a change. A structured way to explore mixed feelings about substance use. Based on Miller and Rollnick (2013): a four-box pros and cons exercise with a readiness ruler and follow-up questions; importance and confidence rulers are left out.
Substance Misuse
Urge surfing record
Record an urge to use a substance as you stay with it and watch it rise, peak and fade, and note whether you used. Practise riding the wave of craving. Based on Marlatt and Donovan (2005): urge surfing, with ratings across the urge and a place to record slips.
Substance Misuse
Substance use diary
Record what you use each day, what led up to it, and how you felt before, straight after and later, to find patterns and triggers. Based on Marlatt and Donovan (2005): a simple use diary with urge and later-effects ratings added; no relapse prevention plan is included.
Substance Misuse
Pros and cons of change
A simplified tool to explore your reasons for and against changing your substance use. Based on Miller and Rollnick (2013): a two-list version of the decisional balance with a reflection and one small step; the readiness and importance rulers are left out.
Substance Misuse
Substance misuse formulation (Beck et al.'s cognitive model)
Map how a situation sets off beliefs, thoughts and cravings that lead to use, and how the relief and the costs of using lead to the next time, with the early experiences behind them.
Want to assign this to a client?
Create a free therapist account to use the homework and library download tools. Clients can complete assigned homework online or use a blank PDF. See how the homework workflow works.
No card required. The Free plan includes 10 worksheet uses a month. Check plan access and limits.