My plan for responding early and staying connected
Connect your personal early signs with manageable care, supportive contact and clear routes back to professional help.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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My plan for responding early and staying connected
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Signs, care and connection
Keep a copy somewhere accessible. Confirm contact details together.
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When to use ‘My plan for responding early and staying connected’
‘My plan for responding early and staying connected’ is an interactive mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) worksheet, for work with depression and low mood. Consider this resource when exploring recurring patterns of low mood and how a client notices thoughts and feelings, particularly within relapse prevention work for recurrent depression.
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 10 minutes. It centres on one focused exercise:
- Signs, care and connection: Keep a copy somewhere accessible. Confirm contact details together.
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 MBCT approach behind it
‘My plan for responding early and staying connected’ draws on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). MBCT draws on mindfulness practice and cognitive therapy, with a focus on relapse prevention for recurrent depression. It invites clients to notice thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations without becoming caught up in them. The emphasis is on recognising familiar patterns as they arise and exploring how to respond, rather than treating every thought as a fact or instruction.
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 mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Key sources include:
- Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2013). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. Guilford Press.
- Williams, M., Teasdale, J., Segal, Z., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2007). The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness. Guilford Press.
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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