Behavioural Experiment Planner
A structured planner for designing and reviewing CBT behavioural experiments. Clients rate a belief, make a testable prediction, drop safety behaviours, and record what really happened.
2-page fillable PDF · US Letter (prints on A4) · Behavioural experiments
- Approach / concern
- CBT
- Technique
- Behavioural experiments
- Format
- Fillable PDF, 2 pages (US Letter / A4)
- Access
- Pro and Advanced plans (3-day free trial)
- For
- Licensed clinicians to use with clients
- Updated
- October 2026
Key facts
What is the Behavioural Experiment Planner?
A behavioural experiment is a planned activity that tests the accuracy of a belief through direct experience. Instead of debating whether “people will laugh at me if I speak up”, the client tries speaking up once and observes what happens. Experiments are a core part of modern cognitive therapy, especially for anxiety disorders, where avoidance and safety behaviours stop people from ever learning that their fears are exaggerated.
Why it works
Belief change tends to be stronger and longer lasting when it is grounded in experience rather than discussion alone (Bennett-Levy et al., 2004). Experiments that deliberately drop safety behaviours are a central part of evidence-based cognitive therapy for social anxiety (Clark & Wells, 1995) and panic disorder.
When to use it
- Social anxiety: predictions about judgement or rejection
- Panic: beliefs about catastrophic body sensations
- Perfectionism: “If I hand in work that isn’t perfect, disaster will follow”
- Depression: “Nothing I do will make a difference”
- Health anxiety and OCD-related beliefs (alongside ERP)
How to use it in session
- Identify one belief and rate how strongly the client believes it.
- Turn the belief into a specific, observable prediction.
- Co-design an experiment that is challenging but doable within the coming week.
- Name the safety behaviours the client will drop so the test is fair.
- After the experiment, record the facts first, then the learning.
- Re-rate the belief and plan a follow-up experiment if useful.
Clinician tips
- Frame experiments as ‘no-lose’: if the prediction comes true, you learn something useful too.
- Start small. A 20% belief shift from a small experiment builds momentum for bigger ones.
- Surveys count as experiments. Asking others what they think can test mind-reading beliefs.
- Rehearse in session (role-play) before trying in real life.
Worked example
Sharing with clients
Members can download the PDF to print or email, or copy a private client link from the download box. Your client opens the link and downloads the worksheet on any device. No client account is needed, and nothing your client writes is stored on TherapyAid.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from exposure?
Exposure focuses on staying with feared situations until anxiety and expectations change. Behavioural experiments focus explicitly on testing a stated belief. In practice they overlap and are often combined.
What if the experiment goes badly?
Review it with curiosity. What did the client learn about their ability to cope? Was the prediction too broad? Was a safety behaviour still in place? There is always useful information.
References
Bennett-Levy, J., Butler, G., Fennell, M., Hackmann, A., Mueller, M., & Westbrook, D. (Eds.). (2004). Oxford guide to behavioural experiments in cognitive therapy. Oxford University Press.
Beck, J. S. (2021). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
Clark, D. M., & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model of social phobia. In R. G. Heimberg, M. R. Liebowitz, D. A. Hope, & F. R. Schneier (Eds.), Social phobia: Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment (pp. 69-93). Guilford Press.
This worksheet is an educational tool for use by, or under the guidance of, a licensed or registered mental-health professional. It is not a diagnostic instrument or a substitute for clinical judgement. If a client is in crisis in Canada, call or text 9-8-8 or call 9-1-1.
