ACT worksheets help clients practise the six processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: acceptance, cognitive defusion, present-moment awareness, self-as-context, values and committed action. Choose a worksheet by the function it needs to serve—not simply by a diagnosis or the next page in a workbook. The aim is greater flexibility in responding and acting towards what matters.
This guide explains what each process looks like, gives a short practice example and helps therapists choose between reflection sheets, card sorts and the ACT Matrix. The prompts are available in this article; no purchase or download is needed to try them.
How to choose an ACT worksheet or activity
Start with a recent, specific situation and ask: “What happened, what showed up inside, and what did you do next?” Explore what the response achieved in the moment and what it cost or supported over time. The same behaviour can serve different functions in different circumstances.
For example, taking a break may support participation and recovery. In another situation, repeatedly leaving an ordinary valued task might narrow the client’s life. Do not label all rest, sensory accommodation, help seeking or protective action as avoidance.
| Client task | Possible process focus | Useful format | Review question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make room for a manageable feeling during a chosen action | Acceptance | Willingness and action prompts | Could the feeling be present without deciding everything? |
| Notice a thought without automatically following it | Cognitive defusion | Thought-and-response practice | Was there more room to choose what happened next? |
| Reconnect attention to the current task | Present-moment awareness | Brief noticing and returning practice | What helped attention return? |
| Loosen a fixed identity story | Self-as-context | Perspective-taking or a suitable metaphor | Could the client notice the story without being reduced to it? |
| Clarify a personally meaningful direction | Values | Values cards, discussion or a bullseye | What quality of action matters here? |
| Try one feasible step | Committed action | Action, cue, barrier and support plan | Was the step workable in real life? |
| See these elements together | Several processes | Collaboratively built ACT Matrix | What response serves the chosen direction in this context? |
These are possible entry points, not a fixed sequence. Use formulation, client choice, context and your clinical competence to decide what fits. A worksheet supports the conversation; it does not establish readiness or replace assessment.
1. Acceptance: making room for internal experience
Acceptance concerns willingness to experience thoughts, feelings or sensations when doing so supports a useful choice. It does not mean approving of harm, staying in an unsafe situation or abandoning practical problem-solving.
A brief practice: feeling plus choice
Materials: A blank page or a spoken conversation. Choose an ordinary, manageable situation already discussed in session.
- Ask: “What feeling shows up when you think about this small step?” Let the client name it or use their own description.
- Ask: “What happens when you make getting rid of that feeling the main job?” Explore benefits and costs without assuming their coping is wrong.
- Ask: “If some of that feeling stayed, what small action would you still want to choose?” Rehearse a suitable step without requiring calm first.
Example: A client wants to ask a routine clarification question but feels embarrassed. They practise asking it while allowing some embarrassment, rather than first trying to guarantee they will sound confident.
Worksheet prompts: “What is here?” “What do I usually do about it?” “What matters in this situation?” “What response am I willing to try?”
Debrief and adaptation: Ask whether the practice helped choice, not whether the feeling disappeared. Use a fictional example or a smaller step if needed. Do not intensify sensations, prescribe exposure or treat overwhelm as a reason to push through. Assessment and an individual plan come first.
2. Cognitive defusion: noticing thoughts without automatically following them
Defusion practice explores the effect a thought has on behaviour. It gives clients another way to relate to language, without requiring a thought to vanish or become a positive statement.
A brief practice: thought, instruction or choice?
Materials: One ordinary thought written on a scrap, or spoken aloud.
- Ask the client to choose a familiar thought that gets in the way of a small valued action.
- Invite them to describe it as something their mind is saying, using language that feels natural. For example: “My mind is saying I’ll look foolish.”
- Ask: “If that thought is here, which action would you choose?” Practise a small response while the thought is allowed to remain.
Example: A teen notices the prediction “Everyone will think my question is stupid” and chooses to rehearse asking for help. The task is not to prove that nobody could judge them.
Worksheet prompts: “What thought showed up?” “What did it urge me to do?” “What happened when I noticed it?” “What choice mattered?”
Debrief and adaptation: Ask whether the wording helped or felt awkward. Quiet noticing or a third-person example is an equal option. Repeating a phrase until it feels reassuring can become another control routine; check its function rather than prescribing repetition.
Optional prepared resource: Cognitive Defusion Worksheets provides printable practice material and technique handouts. Use the current listing to check the format and contents; the example above can be used without the pack.
3. Present-moment awareness: noticing and returning attention
This process supports flexible attention to what is happening now. The practice can include the environment, the current task and internal experience; it is not a requirement to empty the mind.
A brief practice: one detail, one return
Materials: An ordinary object or the current task. Eyes can stay open.
- Let the client choose an accessible detail to notice: a colour, sound, texture or part of a task.
- Notice it briefly. If attention moves, invite them to recognise that without criticism.
- Ask: “Where would you like your attention to go next?” Return to the chosen task rather than continuing until a particular feeling appears.
Example: Before beginning a practical planning task, a client notices the edge of the page, recognises that attention has moved to tomorrow’s meeting, and chooses to return to the first planning question.
Worksheet prompts: “What did I notice?” “Where did attention move?” “How did I return?” “What did that let me do?”
Debrief and adaptation: Review whether the practice supported engagement. Offer an external focus, fewer sensory details or a verbal version. Do not require closed eyes, breath focus or attention to bodily sensations. If the practice increases disorientation or distress, stop and respond within the clinical plan.
4. Self-as-context: perspective beyond a fixed self-story
Self-as-context involves noticing experience from a perspective that is not limited to one label, feeling or account of the self. Keep the language concrete; clients do not need to adopt an abstract explanation for the practice to be useful.
A brief practice: a label across situations
Materials: Two blank scraps or a spoken comparison.
- Choose a mild fixed label the client wants to explore, such as “I’m always the quiet one.” Do not demand disclosure of painful identity experiences.
- Ask for two different contexts where that story shows up differently. These are observations, not evidence the client must use to disprove the label.
- Ask: “Can you notice that story and still choose how to show up in this situation?” Rehearse one accessible choice.
Example: A teen speaks little in class but talks freely about a hobby with one friend. They can notice the “quiet one” story while choosing whether to ask one question in a suitable setting.
Worksheet prompts: “What story am I noticing?” “How does context change my experience?” “What else can I notice?” “What response is available now?”
Debrief and adaptation: Avoid asking clients to detach from themselves or ignore discrimination and environmental constraints. Use ordinary language and external orientation if that is more accessible. Check whether a perspective exercise helps participation rather than assuming it is suitable for dissociation.
The ACT Chessboard Worksheet offers a three-page metaphor-based format for perspective-taking and defusion. It is a paid printable option, not a required step or a free download.
5. Values clarification: choosing qualities of action
Values describe how a client wants to act in an important area of life. A goal is something they can complete; a value can guide many different actions. Family and cultural commitments may be personally chosen values too—do not assume they are merely external pressure.
A brief practice: a direction and an example
Materials: A few client-generated words or ordinary scraps. A prepared card deck is optional.
- Offer a few starting words, such as curiosity, care, fairness, creativity or independence, and invite additions or different language.
- Ask the client to choose one that matters in a specific situation. Ask what the word means to them, rather than relying on a standard definition.
- Ask: “What would that look like in something you could actually do?” Distinguish their action from an outcome controlled by other people.
Example: “Connection” becomes inviting a suitable friend for a short walk. Whether the friend accepts is an outcome; making a considerate invitation is the chosen action.
Worksheet prompts: “What matters here?” “How do I want to act?” “What would be one example?” “What practical barriers or competing needs matter?”
Debrief and adaptation: Let the client choose a different direction or say they do not know yet. Use concrete scenes with teens. Avoid turning a card ranking or bullseye into a score of moral worth, or treating limited access, exhaustion and safety needs as failures to live by values.
Optional prepared formats: Values Sorting Cards provides 80 printable cards for individual or group work; a smaller suitable subset can be used with teens. The two-page Values Bullseye Worksheet offers a visual way to explore actions across life areas. Choose whichever format fits the conversation.
6. Committed action: taking and reviewing a workable step
Committed action translates a chosen direction into behaviour, with room to adjust when circumstances change. An action plan should include access and support, not just a request to try harder.
A brief practice: action, cue and backup
Materials: A spoken agreement or a simple page with three headings.
- Choose one small action linked to a value and make it observable.
- Agree a realistic cue, such as after an ordinary daily routine, and identify the thought, feeling or practical obstacle likely to appear.
- Choose a smaller backup or a support request. Decide how you will review the attempt at the next session.
Example: A client values learning. After opening a routine assignment, they will read one instruction and identify the first step. If the instruction is unclear, the backup is to ask an appropriate person for clarification.
Worksheet prompts: “What action?” “After which cue?” “What might get in the way?” “What support or smaller version?” “What will we review?”
Debrief and adaptation: Review fit and barriers whether or not the action happened. Use a verbal review if written homework is unhelpful. A missed attempt is information for adjusting the plan, not proof of low motivation.
The ACT Matrix: seeing experience and behaviour together
The Matrix is a visual conversation tool associated with Kevin Polk and colleagues. It can help separate internal experiences from observable actions while exploring what those actions move towards or away from. It supports discussion across several ACT processes; it is not a diagnostic test.
For an ordinary planning example, make four spaces and discuss:
- Who or what matters: learning and asking useful questions.
- Internal experiences that show up: embarrassment, a prediction of looking foolish and uncertainty about the task.
- Actions used to move away from discomfort: repeatedly postponing a routine clarification question, if that is its function in this case.
- Actions that move towards what matters: rehearsing and then asking an appropriate question, with needed support.
Ask: “What did that action do in the moment, and what did it support over time?” The categories depend on function and context. Taking a break or leaving danger can be useful protective action; do not put behaviour into a permanent good/bad box.
For a prepared format, the ACT Matrix Worksheet PDF is an eight-page resource with prompts and reflection questions. The example here can also be explored on blank paper or verbally.
How to use ACT worksheets collaboratively
- Agree the task: identify one recent situation and the question you are exploring.
- Choose the format: offer talking, pointing, drawing, cards or writing. Check privacy, literacy, sensory and access needs.
- Try a short example together: demonstrate using a fictional situation if personal detail would create pressure.
- Review function: ask what the practice helped the client notice or choose. Do not judge it by calmness or completed boxes alone.
- Agree a next step: continue, simplify, change the tool or stop. Outside-session practice is optional and should fit the clinical plan.
There is no requirement to complete the six processes in order. Values may provide a useful starting point; another client may first need practical support, orientation or a different intervention. A worksheet title does not determine what is clinically appropriate.
In groups, offer pass and observer roles, use third-person examples and avoid scoring disclosure or values. In telehealth, confirm privacy and use a permitted shared copy or read prompts aloud. Check resource licences before distributing files.
For a broader comparison of approaches, read CBT vs DBT vs ACT.
Choose a prepared ACT resource
Use a prepared printable when it makes the practice easier to explain, organise or revisit. The instructions above remain usable without a purchase.
- Values Sorting Cards — compare personally meaningful directions.
- Cognitive Defusion Worksheets — practise a different response to thoughts.
- ACT Chessboard Worksheet — explore a suitable perspective metaphor.
- Values Bullseye Worksheet — discuss chosen directions and current actions.
- ACT Matrix Worksheet PDF — bring experience, action and purpose into one conversation.
Browse the ACT worksheet collection for current formats and contents.
ACT worksheets: common questions
What are the six core processes of ACT?
Acceptance, cognitive defusion, present-moment awareness, self-as-context, values and committed action. They work together and are not a six-step completion checklist.
Which ACT worksheet should I start with?
Start with a specific situation, the function of the client’s response and the task you agree to explore. Use the chooser above as a prompt, then adapt it to formulation and practical needs.
Is defusion the same as challenging a thought?
Defusion explores how a client relates to a thought and what they do when it appears. Cognitive restructuring can examine the thought’s content and evidence. Both need context; avoid presenting all CBT as positive thinking or treating either method as universally better.
Can ACT worksheets be used with teens?
Yes, when the material and task are suitable. Use concrete situations, client-generated language, smaller card sets and options for speaking or pointing. Do not require abstract metaphors or personal disclosure.
Does acceptance mean tolerating mistreatment?
No. Making room for internal experience does not remove the need for safety, boundaries, advocacy or practical change.
Are there free ACT worksheets here?
The examples and prompts in this article are free to use as a starting point in appropriate clinical work. The linked Therapy Courses printable products are paid resources; this article does not provide a separate downloadable PDF.
Sources and further reading
These sources inform the process overview. The brief examples and suggested therapist dialogue above are original illustrations, not a validated treatment programme.