What has helped me get through difficult days
Make room for what getting through a hard period has involved, including help received, what has not helped and needs that remain unmet.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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What has helped me get through difficult days
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What it has taken, and what is still needed
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When to use ‘What has helped me get through difficult days’
‘What has helped me get through difficult days’ is an interactive solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) worksheet. Consider this resource when a client wants to describe a preferred future, notice exceptions to a difficulty and identify strengths or small next steps they could try.
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:
- What it has taken, and what is still needed
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 SFBT approach behind it
‘What has helped me get through difficult days’ draws on solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). SFBT explores what the client would like to be different and what signs would show that difference in everyday life. Attention turns to exceptions, when the difficulty is less present, and to strengths or resources already available. These details provide a starting point for discussing small next steps that the client considers realistic and worthwhile.
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 solution-focused brief therapy. Key sources include:
- de Shazer, S. (1985). Keys to Solution in Brief Therapy. W. W. Norton & Company.
- de Shazer, S., Dolan, Y., Korman, H., Trepper, T., McCollum, E., & Berg, I. K. (2007). More Than Miracles: The State of the Art of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Haworth Press.
- De Jong, P., & Berg, I. K. (2013). Interviewing for Solutions (4th ed.). Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.
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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