CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a practical, short-term form of psychotherapy. It helps people develop skills and strategies to change their negative thinking. The idea is that that negative thinking, or cognitive distortion, is at the root of our issues. It’s not about the events themselves, but how we look at them.
So, by doing “homework” assignments, you learn to identify, question and change the thoughts, attitudes and beliefs related to the emotional and behavioural reactions that cause you problems.
If you’re interested in learning practical skills to manage your day-to-day life and if you’re interested in working on change strategies (“homework”) to cement those new, improved behaviours, doing the assignments in a CBT workbook could be a good option for you.
There has been a lot of research on CBT. Evidence suggests that it is particularly effective in treating anxiety and depression.
You can use CBT to help with:
- insomnia
- bipolar disorder
- eating disorders
- obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- panic disorder
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- specific phobias
- substance use disorders
That said, there are a lot of self-help books and websites based on cognitive-behavioural principles out there. So, it’s important to keep in mind that no matter how excellent those resources may be, CBT is most effective when you also get support from a therapist.
Top 10 CBT Workbooks
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Self-Doubt, Anxiety and Depression
1. If your out-of-control anxiety is keeping you up at night and generally making you miserable, The Anxiety and Worry Workbook: The Cognitive Behavioral Solution is the book for you. In this guide, pioneering clinician-researcher Aaron T. Beck (now Dr. Beck) and fellow cognitive therapy expert David A. Clark put CBT techniques at your fingertips. Worksheets, exercises, and examples teach you practical strategies for identifying your anxiety triggers, challenging the thoughts and beliefs that lead to distress, safely facing the situations you fear, and truly loosening anxiety’s grip–one manageable step at a time.
2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Made Simple: 10 Strategies For Managing Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Panic, And Worry is an easy-to-read manual that can help you to lead a healthier and happier life. With his holistic approach to wellbeing, Psychologist Dr. Seth J. Gillihan guides you to overcome barriers and move towards your goals, whether related to your personal, work or home life.
Work on getting lasting relief from anger, panic, stress, and other mood-related conditions by applying the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy to your daily life.
3. Want to retrain your brain in as little as 7-weeks? After 15 years of successfully treating patients using cognitive behavioral therapy, Dr. Gillihan developed Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks: A Workbook for Managing Depression and Anxiety. The self-directed 7-week plan teaches you practical CBT techniques that can help you feel better. The workbook helps you identify and replace thought patterns and behaviors that aren’t working with new ones that work better. Whether feelings of depression and anxiety occur constantly or sporadically, you can create a CBT tool kit to help you get through those feelings and realize your full potential.
4. Your thoughts make you or break you. How you see yourself and the world shapes your entire life. With Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Simple Techniques to Instantly Overcome Depression, Relieve Anxiety, and Rewire Your Brain you can discover what you need to do to get over depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems. And assuming you do your homework, you can also learn how to reinvent yourself, handle everything life throws your way, and find true happiness. It’s safe, drug free, and scientifically proven to work. Find out how your actions, thoughts, and feelings are intertwined, the real reasons you feel depressed, how to conquer panic attacks and worry, how to release regret and shame and how to break free from intrusive thoughts and obsessive behavior.
Perfectionism
5. Do you hold yourself to extremely high standards? Do you procrastinate certain tasks because you’re afraid you won’t carry them out perfectly? If you’ve answered “yes” to one or both of those questions, chances are you’re a perfectionist. And while there’s nothing wrong with hard work and high standards, perfectionism can also take over your life if you let it. So, how can you find balance? The CBT Workbook for Perfectionism: Practical Skills to Help You Let Go of Self-Criticism, Find Balance, and Reclaim Your Self-Worth could be the book you need to help you develop a more balanced perspective.
Insomnia
6. The Insomnia Workbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Getting the Sleep you Need
is designed to simulate the experience of seeing a professional CBT sleep specialist. First, you’ll assess your sleep habits with questionnaires and evaluate how your sleep problem affects your life; then you’ll learn a variety of proven techniques sleep specialists recommend to their clients. Finally stop the racing thoughts that keep you awake at night and train yourself to sleep better. Teach yourself how to use stimulus control exercises, and deep relaxation skills and identify the foods and lifestyle factors that may be making things worse.
7. The Sleep Workbook: Easy Strategies to Break the Anxiety-Insomnia Cycle contains self-assessments, journal prompts, and self-reflective questions to help you fully grasp the underlying issues that are causing your sleeplessness and change the things you have full control over―your thoughts and behavior. By following easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow steps, you can reduce anxiety, change detrimental sleep habits, and sleep more easily. The Sleep Workbook can help you make measurable positive changes, boost your confidence, and have more energy to do the things that matter.
Negative Thoughts and Pessimism
8. You know who you are. Need to change your inner monologue from negative down talk, to positive affirmations? Try the exercises in The Negative Thoughts Workbook: CBT Skills to Overcome the Repetitive Worry, Shame and Rumination That Drive Anxiety and Depression.
9. Tired of being a “glass is always half empty person”? Then the Happiness Workbook: A CBT-Based Guide to Foster Positivity and Embrace Joy might give you some relief and help you find joy and positivity.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
10. Difficult and traumatic life experiences affect our lives in unexpected ways and can even change the way we sleep. In fact, up to 75% of people who have experienced abuse, violence, or traumatic incidents have sleeping problems after these events, even after all other trauma-related symptoms have diminished. If you’ve experienced these problems for yourself, Post-Traumatic Insomnia Workbook: A Step-by-Step Program for Overcoming Sleep Problems After Trauma is for you.
Are CBT Workbooks For You?
CBT self-help books are ideal for some people and don’t work for others. But if you’re not sure about what you want to do about your insomnia and its possible underlying cause (s), a CBT workbook could be a step in the right direction.
Have you tried CBT? With a therapist or on your own?
Related: Overcome Sleeplessness with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Insomnia