CBT Self-Assessment
NB: The contents of this website are not intended as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Any person with a condition requiring medical attention should consult a qualified medical practitioner or suitable therapist.
The questions below are designed as a rough screening aid for self-assessing the type of anxiety that you may be experiencing. They’re not intended as a substitute for a formal psychological or psychiatric assessment but they briefly describe some of the main symptoms of different anxiety disorders in layman’s terms so you may find them helpful as a starting point in seeking help or obtaining further information.
Does your anxiety cause considerable distress or interfere with your ability to function in life? If not, then you may be unlikely to meet the criteria for a full-blown anxiety disorder but you may be experiencing milder (subclinical) symptoms similar to one of the conditions below.
- Do you experience either recurring unwanted obsessive thoughts, images or urges (e.g., about contamination or harming others), that are difficult to stop, and/or compulsive behaviour or rituals (e.g., repetitive cleaning or checking things excessively)?
If so, you may be suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). - Are you preoccupied with checking your physical health and continually fear you may already have or might develeop a serious illness? You may be suffering from Health Anxiety or hypochondriasis.
- Do you experience sudden, intense periods of panic that peak rapidly and feel overwhelming? If so, you may be experiencing Panic Attacks, if these happen repeatedly they may constitute Panic Disorder.
- Do you avoid being in certain situations where escape would be difficult or embarrassing if you did experience a panic attack or extreme discomfort? If so, you may be experiencing Agoraphobia, with or without panic attacks.
- Do you experience a chronic sense of continual and uncontrollable worry about a variety of fairly realistic problems and a general state of anxiety (e.g., tension or problems getting to sleep)? If so, you may be suffering from Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD).
- Are you re-experiencing a traumatic event that happened in the past (e.g., flashbacks, nightmares, reminders)?
If so, you may be suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). - Do you experience intense self-consciousness and anxiety when in the presence of other people, fear of being judged negatively, and an urged to avoid interpersonal situations?
If so, you may be suffering from Social Anxiety Disorder. - Do you experience intense anxiety and an urge to avoid contact with specific situations, animals, objects, or events?
If so, you may be experiencing a Specific Phobia.
In addition to anxiety-related problems, you may be seeking help with relationship issues, anger, low mood, low self-esteem, habits, etc. If you are experiencing any of these conditions or have further questions about them, or related issues, please feel free to contact us for more information.
The graph below shows the lifetime prevalence of diagnosable mood or anxiety disorders from a large US survey. In other words, this is the percentage of individuals surveyed who had a history of certain conditions.
Blog Articles About CBT Assessment
- Worksheet: Re-evaluating Coping Behaviour August 28, 2012Worksheet: Re-evaluating Coping Behaviour Copyright © Donald Robertson, 2012. All rights reserved. These questions are designed to help you re-evaluate and perhaps challenge your existing ways of coping when anxious, or dealing with similar problems. Feel free to skip questions … Continue reading →The post Worksheet: Re-evaluating Coping Behaviour appeared […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Initial Assessment Questions: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) May 17, 2012This article contains a series of questions about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms designed to help you describe your problem for assessment in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).The post Initial Assessment Questions: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) appeared first on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in London. […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Appraisal of Obsessions & Compulsions May 14, 2012This article provides examples of questions potentially used in Metacognitive Therapy to help understand (conceptualise) obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).The post Appraisal of Obsessions & Compulsions appeared first on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in London. […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- What not to Think: The Distortion-Spotting Exercise April 1, 2012This short article describes an exercise for reflecting upon and identifying potential "thinking errors" using cognitive therapy.The post What not to Think: The Distortion-Spotting Exercise appeared first on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in London. […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Some Questions about Core Beliefs May 31, 2011This short article contains an exercise comprised of a series of questions designed to help you clarify the developmental history of a negative core belief about yourself and re-evaluate the evidence for and against it being true.The post Some Questions about Core Beliefs appeared first on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in London. […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Value Clarification Exercises May 25, 2011This short exercise uses a handful of questions to help you clarify your personal values and consider how they could be more fully integrated in your life.The post Value Clarification Exercises appeared first on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in London. […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- The Vicious Cycle of Anxiety March 10, 2011This article summarises a simplified "clock face" or vicious cycle model of anxiety based on Beck's (2010) revised cognitive model of anxiety.The post The Vicious Cycle of Anxiety appeared first on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in London. […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Beck’s Cognitive Model of Anxiety January 24, 2011This is a brief explanation of Beck's generic cognitive model of anxiety (revised) with questions to help you formulate a cognitive conceptualisation of a specific example situation.The post Beck’s Cognitive Model of Anxiety appeared first on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in London. […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Problem-Domain Analysis Form (Revised) January 23, 2011This is a short assessment form used to provide an overview of problems in different domains of life and focus on goals, obstacles, coping, and worry, in the most problematic areas.The post Problem-Domain Analysis Form (Revised) appeared first on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in London. […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- What Makes your Problem a Problem? January 20, 2011This short article provides some questions to help you analyse a situation in CBT terms by looking at the different elements of the problem and how they might influence each other.The post What Makes your Problem a Problem? appeared first on Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in London. […]Solutions: London Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)