Free Mental Health Workbooks: ACT, CBT, DBT, and More (2024)

There are a lot of excellent mental health resources out there, and quite a few of them are actually free. Here are some of the good mental health workbooks and worksheets that I’ve come across, most of which are available as printable PDFs. They’re based on therapeutic approaches that have proven to be effective.

This page is updated regularly, but the availability of these resources is subject to change without notice.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and commitment therapy identifies fusion with thoughts and resistance to uncomfortable inner experiences as key sources of distress. The therapy works on increasing psychological flexibility and choosing committed actions based on values.

• ACT for Anxiety Disorders worksheets: Dr. John Forsyth’s website has handout packs to accompany his books on ACT for anxiety
• ACT Mindfully: Russ Harris’s site has worksheets from all of his books on ACT, including The Happiness Trap
• ACT with Compassion: various handouts and worksheets
• ACTivate Your Life: worksheets to accompany the book by the same name
• Association for Contextual Behavioral Science: ACT videos and audio lessons
• How to Adapt and Thrive in the Age of Anxiety workbook
• Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Group Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: a therapist manual and participant handouts
• Portland Psychotherapy Clinic: ACT exercises and audio files
• PositivePsychology.com: 21 ACT Worksheets and Ways to Apply Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
• When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Mindful: A Toolkit Based on the Principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy – from Help With ACT
• 6 ACT Conversations: audio e-learning program and accompanying worksheets

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT is an evidence-based treatment for a variety of different mental illnesses. A key element of CBT is identifying evidence to challenge cognitive distortions. This can sometimes be difficult to do without working with a therapist, but there are plenty of self-help resources to help you try on your own.

Here are links to some free CBT worksheets and workbooks:

• A Course in CBT Techniques: A Free Online CBT Workbook from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Los Angeles
• Anger Management for Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Clients: Participant Workbook from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• Antidepressant Skills Workbook from CAMHA: a good intro for people who are new to CBT for depression, but might feel a little too basic if you are familiar with CBT
• Anxiety and Depression Student Workbook from the University of Arkansas
• Anxiety Toolbox Student Workbook from Liberty University: sections on anxiety 101, automatic thoughts, and alternative responses, grounding, and self-care

• Behavioural activation booklets from the NHS: this series of booklets focuses on the behavioural activation aspect of CBT for depression
• Behavioral Activation for Depression workbook from the University of Michigan

• CBT group program manuals for Depression and Anxiety from the University of Michigan: these manuals are meant to be used as part of a group program, but they’re clearly laid out and have exercises you can work on on your own
• CBT+ Notebook: CBT handouts and worksheets from the Harborview Abuse & Trauma Center
• CBT Skills Training Workbook: from the NHS, focused on low mood and anxiety
• Centre for Clinical Interventions: this Australian organization has workbooks/worksheets for a wide variety of mental health concerns
• Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression: workbooks for generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, OCD, panic disorder, social phobia, and specific phobias
• Cognitive Processing Therapy Patient Workbook

• Exeter University workbooks:
  • Anxiety-Busting: Challenging Your Thoughts
  • Busting the Blues
  • Managing Your Worries

• Flinders University workbooks:
  • Behavioural activation for depression
  • Graded exposure
  • Managing your worries
  • Overcoming perfectionism

• Integrated CBT patient workbook from Dartmouth University

• Living CBT self-help resources

• Managing Depression: A Self-Help Skills Resource for Women Living with Depression During Pregnancy, After Delivery, and Beyond
• Mind Over Mood – worksheets to accompany the book

• NHS inform: self-help guides for anxiety, depression, trauma-informed CBT, and other topics

• Self-Help Manual for Bulimia Nervosa from The Cullen Centre
• Social Anxiety Group Participation Workbook from Hamilton Family Health Team: a patient manual for group therapy that’s laid out in a way that makes it pretty easy to use on your own
• Stress management workbooks from SafeSpot

• TF-CBT Workbook: trauma-focused CBT for teens
• Think CBT Workbook: ThinkCBT also has other resources based on CBT, ACT, and compassion-focused therapy

• Your Best You: Managing Your Anxiety from Queen’s University

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)

DBT is very skill-based, and while it’s used most often for borderline personality disorder, many of the skills can also be useful to people with other mental health issues.

Here are links to some free DBT worksheets and workbooks:

• DBT handouts from psychologist Dr. Linda Olson
• DBT Fosters Recovery and Resiliency Handouts
• DBT Peer Connections: DBT skills in a massively open online course format
• DBT Skills Application: a DBT self-help site with links to skills worksheets
• DBT Skills Handbook from Fulton State Hospital: available from a number of sources, including My Journey Through Madness
• DBT Skills Workbook for Rec Therapy Sessions from RecTherapyToday
• Dealing with Distress: distress tolerance workbook
• Dialecticalbehaviortherapy.com: videos, written info, and worksheets
• Diary card from University of Washington
• Dr. Mark Purcell: DBT youth group manual (link goes straight to a .docx download)
• ilovedbt.wordpress.com: DBT skills micro-lessons, handouts, and worksheets
• Mind Body Soul Therapy: free online mini DBT intro course
• Now Matters Now: diary card | skills practice worksheet
• Open-Minded Thinking DBT workbook
• Regulator Workbook: DBT skills manual from Mission Australia
• The DBT Homework Assignment Workbook: from Between Sessions Resources

Other Mental Health Workbooks and Worksheets

• Between Sessions Resources:
  • Breaking Free of Addiction
  • Don’t Let Your Worries Run Your Life: Therapeutic Assignments to Help You Overcome Your Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  • Overcoming Depression: 44 Therapeutic Activities to Bring Happiness and Fulfillment Back into Your Life
  • Overcoming Your Binge Eating Disorder
  • Overcoming Your Dental Anxiety
  • Overcoming Your OCD: A Therapy Assignment Workbook
  • Panic Attack Workbook: focus is on practicing skills
  • The PTSD Workbook
  • Tools for Helping Anxious Teens Workbook
  • Your Most Important Assignment Is You: A Workbook of Mental Health Activities for Teens

• Coping skills handouts & worksheets from Harborview Center for Sexual Assault & Traumatic Stress
• Dealing with Psychosis Toolkit: this toolkit from Fraser Health Authority provides information about psychosis and skills that can help to manage it
• Living Successfully With a Mood Disorder Plan workbook from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)
• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Workbook by Ken Lunn
• My Group Guide: many worksheets are for members only, but there are also quite a few free resources
• Queens University self-help workbooks on improving mood, managing anxiety, and self-care
• Seasons Therapy Anger Management Workbook
• STAIR for trauma web group handouts & worksheets from Kaiser Permanente
• The Self-Help Alliance: Building Better Boundaries
• The Wellness Society has a guide on How to Beat the Winter Blues, a Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook, and lots of other free resources
• Therapy worksheets from social worker Brian Konik
• Wellness worksheets (e.g. positive self-talk, resilience, self-love) from Western Washington University Counseling Center
• Your Recovery Journey workbook from the Schizophrenia Society of Canada

Large Collections of Worksheets

• GetSelfHelp: worksheets galore on a variety of topics
• PositivePsychology.com: info and worksheets based on a number of different therapy models, including CBT, DBT, and positive psychotherapy
• Psychology Tools: has a wide variety of worksheets, including CBT and DBT-based
• Therapist Aid: worksheets that are geared for therapists to use with their clients.

Resources on Mental Health @ Home

• Mental Health Coping Toolkit: has a broad collection of resources to support mental health and well-being
• Mental Health Resource Directory: has a collection of useful mental health websites and apps
• So You’ve Just Been Diagnosed With… [a Mental Disorder]: brings together info, advice, and resources from people who’ve been there
• Therapy Tools for Mental Health: a collection of tools from ACT, CBT, DBT, and more