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Forgot PIN? Reset it (your answers stay safe)A gentle workbook to walk through your therapy journey β one small paw step at a time. This is your book. There are no right or wrong answers, and you can come back to it whenever you like.
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A quick way to notice how you're doing, and to watch your paw prints add up over time. Add one whenever you like β once a day is plenty. Watching the line move is a lovely reminder that feelings change.
Therapy is a space to understand what you're feeling and to build ways of coping that work for you. It isn't about being "fixed" β nothing about you is broken. It's about learning, a little at a time, how to feel safer, steadier and more like yourself.
Progress isn't a straight line. Some days feel like big leaps, some like standing still, some like stepping back β that's all normal, and all part of it.
Goals give your paw steps a direction. Make them small and kind β "I'd like to sit in the garden for five minutes" is a brilliant goal. Tick them off as you go. πΎ
A few approaches you might come across. You don't need to memorise anything β this is just so nothing feels like a mystery.
CBT looks at the link between our thoughts, our feelings and what we do. When one changes, the others often change too.
Sometimes thoughts get into unhelpful habits ("everyone's judging me"). CBT helps you spot those thoughts, gently question them, and try small actions that build more helpful patterns.
Think of it like: untangling a knot β you find the thread, loosen it a little, and the whole thing starts to give.
EMDR helps the brain process difficult or frightening memories that feel "stuck", so they lose some of their sting.
While you briefly bring a memory to mind, the therapist guides gentle side-to-side movements (often your eyes following their hand, or taps). This helps the memory settle into the past.
Think of it like: a memory left out in the rain β EMDR helps you file it away properly so it stops soaking everything else.
REM is the stage of sleep when your eyes flicker side to side and your brain quietly sorts and files the day's memories. Trauma can interrupt this natural filing, leaving a memory feeling raw and stuck in the "now".
This is where EMDR gets its idea from β the gentle side-to-side movements recreate what your brain already does during REM sleep, helping a stuck memory finally get filed into the past.
Think of it like: your brain has an overnight filing clerk. REM does the filing while you sleep β EMDR just gives the clerk a hand while you're awake.
Here's a simple CBT map. Pick a tricky moment, then see how your thoughts, feelings, body and actions all feed into each other. Noticing the links is the first step to changing them.
When feelings get big or the world feels far away, grounding brings you back to the here and now β to this room, this moment, where you are safe. Here are a few to try.
You know a normal first aid box β the one with plasters and antiseptic wipes for when you get hurt. A psychological first aid box is the same idea, but for your feelings. It's a collection of things that soothe and steady you in a hard moment β and it's tailored to you.
e.g. photos of people, pets or places you love; a calming picture
e.g. a favourite song, calming music, waves, a kind voice note
e.g. a strong mint, a favourite sweet, gum, a warm drink
e.g. a fidget toy, a soft blanket, baby wipes, a smooth stone
e.g. a perfume or aftershave, hand sanitiser, a candle, fresh laundry
e.g. a photo, a name to call or text, someone who makes you feel safe
When something frightening happens, the memory can get "stuck" and keep feeling like it's happening now. Trauma-Focused CBT gently helps your brain file the memory where it belongs β in the past β so it loses its grip. It works in three stages.
With your therapist, you gently walk through the whole memory from beginning to end, describing it out loud as if it's happening right now β "I amβ¦ I can seeβ¦ I feelβ¦". Speaking in the present tense helps your brain reach the memory fully so it can be updated. You go at your pace, and you always include the ending β the part where you got through it.
Hot spots are the worst moments in the memory β the peaks where the feeling is strongest. You update them in two ways:
The last stage is about reclaiming your life β gently returning to the things you did and enjoyed before the problem, and building the life you want now. Trauma often quietly takes places, routines and joys; this is where you take them back, one paw step at a time. These link beautifully to your activity ladder below.
Some things feel too big to do all at once. A graded hierarchy breaks a goal into small steps, from easiest at the bottom to hardest at the top β like rungs on a ladder. You climb one paw step at a time, only moving up when you're ready.
| Step / activity | How hard? (0β10) |
|---|
π‘ Tip: an activity you've practised a few times usually feels less scary than it did at first. When a step feels easy, it's a sign you're ready for the next rung.
Extra spaces for the things that come up alongside everything else. Use the ones that fit; skip the ones that don't.
Wind-down helps sleep come. Try: same bedtime, screens off early, a calm routine, the box-breathing above.
Anger is okay β it's what we do with it that matters. Notice the early spark and step in before it grows.
Pressure feels lighter in small pieces. Break it down, and be as kind to yourself as you'd be to a friend.
On hard days it's easy to forget these. Write them here so they're waiting for you.
A plan to keep by you for really hard moments β made calmly, now, so it's ready when you need it. Fill it in with a trusted adult or your therapist if you can.
Getting better isn't about never having bad days β it's about knowing what to do when they come. Setbacks aren't failure. They're information, and they're part of everyone's journey.
A place to look back and notice how far your paw prints have travelled. Come back and add to this whenever you like.
You're safe. Nothing here has to be fixed right now. Let's just steady the boat.