10 CBT Games for Teens | Therapy & Group Activities (Therapist Resource)

CBT games for teens turn skills such as noticing automatic thoughts, checking evidence and choosing a next step into a shared challenge. Try Flip That Thought for balanced thinking, Thought Detective for separating clues from assumptions, or Thought Sorting for learning the thought–feeling–behaviour connection.

Below are 10 games you can run in individual counselling or teen group therapy. Each includes materials, rules, an example and a way to adapt it. You can make the materials yourself using the examples here; optional paid printables are linked where they save preparation time.

Choose a CBT game for your session

The timings below are planning estimates, including a short discussion. Start with one game that fits the skill you are working on.

Short on time? Start with Thought Sorting or What Would You Tell a Friend?. For a new group, use fictional scenarios in Thought Detective rather than asking everyone to share a personal difficulty.

Set up the game · Group and telehealth adaptations · Debrief and between-session practice · FAQs

How to set up a CBT game for teenagers

Choose a specific skill first: “Today we are practising telling an observation from an assumption,” rather than “Today we are doing CBT.” Explain the rules, demonstrate one round and let the teen choose whether to speak, write, point or observe.

Try this introduction: “We’ll work with a made-up situation first. You can pass, ask for a different example or keep your answer about the character. We’re looking for ideas we can explain, not the most positive answer.”

• Keep personal disclosure optional. Group members can practise the skill without using their own experiences.
• Use cooperative goals. Collect three supported explanations or complete a case together. Avoid awarding points for revealing private information or appearing less anxious.
• Match the challenge to the teen. Read cards aloud, reduce writing or remove timers if that makes participation easier.
• Validate the situation. If a teen describes actual bullying, discrimination or another real problem, acknowledge it and consider support and problem-solving. Reframing does not make harmful behaviour acceptable.

These are CBT-informed skills-practice activities for clinicians to adapt to the client and session goal. The game format itself is not a claim that an activity has been tested as a treatment.

1. Flip That Thought

Skill: noticing an automatic interpretation and creating a balanced alternative.
You need: paper, a pen and three situation slips. Write: “Your message has not received a reply,” “You make a mistake during a presentation,” and “A friend changes your weekend plans.”

The challenge: build an explanation that is believable enough to use, then choose an action that fits it.

1. Let the teen choose a situation. Say: “What might jump into someone’s mind here?” Write that thought without correcting it.
2. Ask the teen to name a possible emotion and rate how strongly the fictional character believes the thought, from 0–100.
3. Take turns adding one piece of known information and one thing you do not know. Keep guesses in a separate column.
4. Each person offers an alternative thought. It must include something supported by the situation and leave room for uncertainty.
5. The teen chooses or combines the alternatives, rates how believable the new thought is and selects one next action. Finish the round when the action and thought fit together.

Example: “They haven’t replied, so they’re done with me” becomes “There is no reply yet. I don’t know why. I can get on with my afternoon and check later.” The action might be returning to an activity rather than sending several messages.

Ask: “What makes that version believable?” and “Would it still help if the situation did not turn out how you hoped?”

Adapt it: in a group, pass the paper so each person adds a different possibility; nobody has to defend a personal thought. In individual work, the teen can reject both of the therapist’s suggestions and write a better one.

Optional paid printable: Flip That Thought! Teen Edition provides prepared situations, thought cards, evidence prompts and action cards for its Spot It · Feel It · Check It · Flip It · Try It sequence.

2. Thought Detective Challenge

Skill: distinguishing evidence, interpretation and missing information.
You need: three headings on paper—“Known,” “Assumed” and “Still unknown”—plus the case and clues below.

The case: Casey asks two classmates whether they want to work together. One says, “We’ve already started.” Casey thinks, “Nobody wants me in their group.”

1. Read the case. Say: “Our job is to find out what this information supports. We don’t have to prove Casey right or wrong.”
2. Let the investigators sort the first details under the three headings. “One person said they had started” is known; “nobody wants Casey” is an interpretation.
3. Reveal clue one: the classmate adds, “We picked our topic yesterday.” Ask what this changes and what remains uncertain.
4. Reveal clue two: another student says, “Our table still has a place.” Let the team revise its conclusion.
5. Close the case only when the investigators write a conclusion containing one known fact, one uncertainty and one useful next step.

Example conclusion: “This pair already started their project. We do not know what everyone thinks of Casey. Casey could ask the other table about joining.”

Ask: “Which clue changed your view?” and “What question would give us useful information?” If a thinking-pattern label is helpful, introduce it after examining the evidence; there is no prize for finding the therapist’s preferred label.

Adapt it: give each group member one clue to contribute. For a teen who prefers not to speak, offer sorting cards and a written case conclusion. Keep the case fictional unless the teen wants to apply the skill personally.

Optional paid printable: Thought Detective Case Files supplies prepared teen cases, evidence cards, sorting tools and facilitator guidance.

3. The Worry Ladder

Skill: breaking a goal into manageable steps and making a testable prediction.
You need: five blank slips and a drawn ladder. This game plans a possible experiment; completing an exposure is not a group competition.

1. Choose a fictional goal, such as “Lee wants to ask for help in class.” Say: “Let’s build steps that would give Lee practice and information.”
2. Write possible steps: write the question down; practise asking the therapist; ask a familiar teacher privately; ask after a small lesson; ask during class. These are possibilities to revise, not a prescribed hierarchy.
3. Have the teen arrange the slips in the order they think fits Lee. Ask them to move or replace any step that is too large.
4. Select one step and write a prediction: “If Lee asks privately, the teacher will say it is a silly question.” Decide what observable information would help test it.
5. Finish by identifying what to record afterward: what was said, what Lee did and what Lee learned. The planning challenge is complete when the step is specific and the prediction can be checked.

Example: “Ask one question after class on Thursday” is clearer than “Be more confident.” A result might be “The teacher explained the first step”; it might also reveal a need for a different source of support.

Ask: “What would make this step manageable?” and “What could we learn even if Lee still felt anxious?”

Adapt it: groups plan for the fictional character. If applying the ladder to a real fear, the clinician and teen agree on an appropriate, voluntary experiment within their treatment plan. Review learning rather than giving points for enduring distress. Never use dangerous situations as practice tasks.

4. Emotion Charades: CBT Edition

Skill: noticing emotion and body clues while recognising that the same situation can have different meanings.
You need: slips saying “embarrassed,” “frustrated,” “proud” and “uncertain”; paper for anyone who prefers drawing.

1. A player chooses a slip and acts, draws or describes possible body clues without naming the emotion. Passing is allowed.
2. The others offer guesses and explain the clue they noticed. Accept more than one plausible answer; an expression does not tell us exactly what someone feels.
3. Reveal the emotion. Give everyone the same situation: “You are asked to demonstrate something in front of the class.”
4. Each person suggests a thought that could go with that emotion in this situation. For pride, it might be “I get to show something I practised”; for embarrassment, “Everyone will notice my mistakes.”
5. Complete the round by adding one possible action for the character. Play again with another emotion and compare the sequences.

Ask: “What changed when the thought changed?” and “Could two people have different feelings in the same situation?”

Adapt it: skip acting and use written clues such as “warm face,” “looking away” or “wanting to leave.” Do not require eye contact or treat a particular expression as the correct way to show an emotion.

5. The Reaction/Response Game

Skill: noticing an urge and considering different actions and consequences.
You need: a situation slip and three columns: “First urge,” “Another option” and “What could happen next.”

1. Read: “Your teammate criticises your mistake in front of others.” Ask: “What might the character think, feel and want to do immediately?”
2. Write the first urge without judging it. Then ask each player to suggest another possible action.
3. Explore short-term and later consequences for two options. Players can disagree, but must explain their prediction.
4. Reveal a context change: “This is the third time the teammate has singled them out.” Ask whether the response needs to change.
5. End the round by choosing an action and naming the goal it serves: getting feedback, setting a boundary or asking for support.

Example: shouting back might interrupt the criticism but escalate the conflict. Saying, “Give me the feedback without calling me out,” and talking to the coach may fit a different goal. Quietly leaving is not automatically the best answer.

Ask: “What interpretation makes that urge understandable?” and “Which option protects what matters to this character?”

Adapt it: pairs rehearse two short responses, then revise one. If role-play feels uncomfortable, write speech bubbles instead. For more examples focused specifically on anger, see anger management games for teens.

6. Self-Soothing Bingo

Skill: trying a coping strategy and checking whether it is useful in a particular situation.
You need: a blank 3 × 3 grid and nine options: notice three colours; press feet gently into the floor; stretch hands; take a comfortable breath; sip water; draw a small pattern; notice a sound; relax shoulders; name one next action.

1. Write one option in each square. Say: “We’re testing options, not trying to make everyone feel the same.”
2. Let the teen choose a fictional context, such as waiting for a test to start, and select a square they would like to try.
3. Try it briefly if comfortable. Ask whether it was useful, neutral or uncomfortable, and mark the square as “tested.” An uncomfortable option still gives useful information.
4. Continue until three tested squares form a line. The challenge rewards trying and noticing, not reporting that every strategy worked.
5. Choose one option to keep and one to replace. Link the chosen option to a next action in the scenario.

Example: noticing colours may help the character orient to the room; asking the teacher where to sit may still be the practical next step.

Ask: “Where would this be easy to use?” and “Would this help you take the next step, or become something you feel you must do perfectly first?” Coping practice does not need to remove all discomfort before action.

Adapt it: offer sensory and movement choices; do not require closed eyes, breath exercises or a particular strategy. Groups complete their own grids without comparing how calm everyone feels.

Optional paid printable: Self-Soothing Bingo includes a prepared coping-activity board and a reflection worksheet. Use the supplied game instructions or adapt the discussion to your session goal.

7. Thought Sorting Challenge

Skill: separating thoughts, emotions, body sensations and behaviours.
You need: four category headings and eight slips. Write: “They’ll judge me,” “I’m worried,” “My palms feel sweaty,” “I stop speaking,” “I might manage this,” “I feel disappointed,” “My stomach feels tight,” and “I ask for help.”

1. Demonstrate one slip. Say: “‘They’ll judge me’ is an interpretation, so I would put it under thought. What do you notice?”
2. Players take turns placing a slip and explaining their choice. The group’s goal is to sort all eight with a reason for each.
3. Keep an “unsure” space. Discuss ambiguous wording instead of penalising it; “I feel ignored,” for example, may include an interpretation and an emotion that needs naming.
4. Give a situation: “You are about to answer a question in class.” Choose one slip from each category to build a possible sequence.
5. Swap one thought or action and ask which other parts might change. End after comparing the two sequences.

Example: “They’ll judge me” → worried → sweaty palms → stop speaking. “I might manage this” could go with asking a brief question, even if worry remains.

Ask: “Which part is something we could observe?” and “Which part is the character’s meaning or prediction?”

Adapt it: read the slips aloud and let the teen point. Add an optional timer only if everyone enjoys it; keep the explanation more important than speed. This replaces a race with a sorting challenge that can suit different processing speeds.

8. The Confidence Jar: Evidence Match

Skill: checking a broad negative belief against specific examples.
You need: a jar or envelope, paper slips and three fictional evidence cards: “Morgan asked for help on a difficult question,” “Morgan made one mistake,” and “Morgan practised twice and improved one section.”

1. Write the belief “I never do anything useful.” Say: “Which details matter when we check a word like ‘never’?”
2. Lay out the three evidence cards. The teen sorts them into “supports,” “complicates” and “does not tell us enough.”
3. Choose two details that the belief leaves out and put them in the jar. Each must describe something that happened, rather than a compliment.
4. Draw one slip and revise the belief so it accounts for that detail. Repeat with the second slip.
5. Finish when the revised statement acknowledges both a difficulty and an action Morgan took.

Example: “I struggled with part of the task, but I asked for help and improved one section” is more specific than “I’m amazing at everything.” A mistake does not cancel the other evidence.

Ask: “What does this example show?” and “What does it not prove?”

Adapt it: a teen can privately add their own evidence between sessions and decide what to discuss. In a group, keep the shared jar about fictional characters; do not make participants publicly defend their worth.

9. What Would You Tell a Friend?

Skill: using another perspective to build a fair, practical response.
You need: three headings on paper: “Acknowledge,” “Check” and “Next step.”

1. Read: “A friend gets a lower mark than expected and says, ‘I’m stupid. There’s no point trying.’” Ask: “What would you say that is both kind and believable?”
2. The teen builds a reply with one sentence under each heading: acknowledge the disappointment, check the conclusion and suggest a next step.
3. Play the friend and respond, “But I did badly.” Let the teen revise the advice so it acknowledges the result rather than arguing it away.
4. Swap roles or try a second situation. Complete a round when the reply contains all three pieces.
5. Ask whether any part would also feel fair to say to themselves. They can keep it about the friend if they prefer.

Example: “That result is disappointing. One mark does not tell us everything about your ability. We could check which questions went wrong and ask about one of them.”

Ask: “Which sentence would you actually listen to?” and “What would sound dismissive?”

Adapt it: write the reply as a text message or offer two draft replies to edit. In groups, compare the usefulness of the advice rather than voting for the nicest participant.

10. ABC(D) Explorer Challenge

Skill: linking an event, interpretation and response, then exploring an alternative.
You need: four labelled spaces: A—activating event; B—belief or automatic thought; C—consequences, including emotions, body responses and behaviour; D—discuss and develop an alternative. This activity uses D for examining the thought, rather than treating it as an instruction to argue with the teen.

1. Write A: “A friend cancels plans.” Give the teen two B cards: “They don’t care about me” and “I don’t know why they cancelled yet.”
2. Choose one B card and build a possible C using separate emotion, body and action slips. Say: “What might happen next if the character believed this?”
3. At D, identify what is known, what is uncertain and a question or action that could help.
4. Replace B with an alternative based on that discussion. Rebuild C; feelings may remain mixed rather than changing completely.
5. Reveal new context: “The friend offers another day.” Revise the sequence again. Finish when the group can explain which part changed and why.

Example: “They don’t care” might go with hurt, a tense body and refusing future invitations. “I’m disappointed, but they suggested another day” might go with replying to arrange it while still feeling let down.

Ask: “Did changing the interpretation change the original event?” and “Which action could give us more information?”

Adapt it: assign a group member to each space, then rotate roles. In individual work, let the teen move the slips and challenge the therapist’s proposed sequence.

Optional paid printable: ABC(D) Explorers provides printable scenario, thought, consequence and reframe materials for practising this model.

Adapting CBT games for groups, quiet teens and telehealth

For teen group therapy

Use a shared fictional case and give players roles such as reader, sorter, evidence checker and recorder. Rotate roles without requiring every person to speak. For larger groups, work in pairs or small teams and compare conclusions afterward. Agree that nobody will name another group member as the character in a scenario.

For teens who prefer less talking

Offer two options to edit, cards to move or a short written answer. “Which clue would you keep?” is a smaller starting point than “Tell everyone what you think.” Observing a demonstration can be the first round. Let the teen choose a different scenario if the example feels too close to home.

For online sessions

Read the case aloud and use a shared screen or paper held to the camera for the categories. The teen can say a letter, type a choice or write privately. Use fictional details in shared boards and follow your usual session privacy arrangements. These adaptations use ordinary paper or screen sharing; they do not require a dedicated online game platform.

Debrief the game and choose one small practice task

Reserve a few minutes to connect the round to its skill. Ask:

• “Which detail changed how you understood the situation?”
• “What did we know, and what were we filling in?”
• “What could the character try next, even if the feeling stayed?”
• “Would any part be useful in your week, or should we keep practising with examples?”

If the teen wants a between-session task, choose one that follows from the game. After Thought Sorting, notice one thought and one action in a situation. After Flip That Thought, write an initial interpretation, an uncertainty and a next step. After a collaboratively planned experiment, bring back the prediction and what happened. Review what was learned, including what did not help; avoid turning practice into another performance score.

CBT games for teens: frequently asked questions

What are good CBT games for teens?

Choose according to the skill: Flip That Thought for balanced interpretations, Thought Detective for evidence checking, Thought Sorting for the CBT model, and ABC(D) Explorer for connecting thoughts with emotions and behaviour. The instructions above include examples you can use without buying a resource.

What can I use as a five-minute CBT game?

Sort four slips into thought, emotion, body sensation and action, then connect them to one situation. Alternatively, use one What Would You Tell a Friend? round to create an acknowledgement, an evidence check and a practical next step.

Can these games work in individual therapy?

Yes. The therapist can be the second player, read the clues or offer a suggestion for the teen to edit. Use a cooperative task rather than turning the session into a test with one correct answer.

Are these free games or printable downloads?

The article gives free instructions and sample material for making your own games. The linked Therapy Courses products are optional paid digital downloads with prepared materials. This article does not include a separate downloadable game pack.

Do CBT games mean replacing negative thoughts with positive ones?

No. Check whether an interpretation fits the available information. A useful alternative can acknowledge disappointment, uncertainty or a real problem and still identify a practical next action. Do not insist on an upbeat explanation that the teen does not believe.

Are coping games the same as CBT?

Coping activities can support skills practice, but learning a calming strategy alone does not cover the full CBT model. Connect the activity to the situation, interpretation, action and learning that matter for the client.

Choose your next session resource

Start by trying one round using the materials above. If you want prepared cards and cases for repeated use, the paid printables linked beside Flip That Thought, Thought Detective, Self-Soothing Bingo and ABC(D) Explorer offer different formats; choose the one that matches your session goal.

For a broader mix of exercises and between-session tasks, see 20 CBT activities for teens. For games covering communication, coping and other group goals, see therapy games for teenagers in group sessions.

CBT background: Beck Institute’s explanation of CBT describes examining thoughts, developing skills and planning action collaboratively. The activities and examples on this page are practical adaptations; the source does not validate these individual games.