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General CBT Skills~12 min

Spot Your Thinking Traps

A companion to the Unhelpful Thinking Styles handout. Learn to notice the common cognitive distortions your mind falls into, spot which ones you recognise, and practise catching a thought and finding a fairer, more balanced view.

Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed

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Therapist note: A client-facing companion to the Unhelpful Thinking Styles handout, for use in the cognitive phase of CBT once the client can begin to notice their own thoughts. Use it collaboratively: the checklist is for the client to recognise their own habitual styles, not a test to score. In the catch-and-re-balance table, draw out the client's own examples and guide the balanced alternative with Socratic questioning rather than supplying it. Frame cognitive distortions as common mental shortcuts everyone falls into, not personal failings. The twelve styles map onto the standard cognitive-distortions list (after A. T. Beck and D. Burns).

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What are cognitive distortions?

When we are stressed, low, or anxious, our minds tend to fall into a few familiar patterns. These are known as cognitive distortions (sometimes called thinking traps). They are not a sign that anything is wrong with you - everyone's mind does this. The trouble is that these patterns can make a situation feel worse than it really is, and they often feel completely true at the time. The first step is simply to learn to spot them. Once you can name a trap, it loses some of its power, and you can start to step back and look for a fairer, more balanced view.

Which do you recognise?

Here are twelve common cognitive distortions. Read each one and tick any that feel familiar. You might recognise a few, or many - there are no right or wrong answers. It can help to notice which ones tend to show up for you most often.

Which do you recognise?

Catch and re-balance

Now try it with some real examples from your own week. When you notice a strong feeling, write down the situation and the thought that went with it. See which trap (or traps) it fits, then have a go at a more balanced, fair view - the kind of thing you might say to a good friend in the same situation.

#SituationThe thoughtTrap(s) it fitsA more balanced, fair viewActions
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When to use ‘Spot Your Thinking Traps’

‘Spot Your Thinking Traps’ 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 12 minutes. It moves through four short steps:

  1. What are cognitive distortions? — When we are stressed, low, or anxious, our minds tend to fall into a few familiar patterns. These are known as cognitive distortions…
  2. Which do you recognise? — Here are twelve common cognitive distortions. Read each one and tick any that feel familiar. You might recognise a few, or many - there are…
  3. Catch and re-balance — Now try it with some real examples from your own week. When you notice a strong feeling, write down the situation and the thought that went…
  4. Over to you

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, ‘Spot Your Thinking Traps’ works by noticing and re-evaluating unhelpful automatic thoughts (cognitive restructuring). 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. (1963). Thinking and depression: Idiosyncratic content and cognitive distortions. Archives of General Psychiatry, 9(4), 324-333. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1963.01720160014002
  • Burns, D.D. (1980). Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. New York: William Morrow.
  • Greenberger, D. & Padesky, C.A. (2016). Mind Over Mood (2nd ed.). New York: 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
  • 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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