Counseling Activities Workbook: Handouts and Exercises for Working With People

The goal of counseling is to support people as they move toward their goals of managing themselves, their life issues, and their relationships. For helpers and counselors, one way to provide this support is to use experiential learning activities to facilitate the development of new insights and skills.

This book contains a wide variety of counseling resources based on an equally diverse range of counseling theories, including cognitive behavioral, narrative, family systems, and mindfulness. The resources are formatted as handouts that can be copied or printed and given to the person you are supporting. Activities include questionnaires, worksheets, reflective exercises, mapping activities, safety plans, and coping strategies. Most of the resources are applicable to many issues, while others have a more specific focus and can be assigned in sequence so that their insights and strategies build on each other.

This workbook is designed for helpers and counselors to use in the context of a helping relationship, where additional depth and guidance can be provided – it is not a self-help book. By providing multiple resources to draw upon, this book supports helpers and counselors to feel more confident as they support others.

The activities in this workbook are suitable for working with people 16 years of age and older. All activities can either be photocopied or you can access printable PDFs on our website.

The activities are related to the following topics:

Change and Planning

Coping and Stress

Self-Awareness and Self-Esteem

Cognitive Behavioral Strategies

Body and Movement

Breathing

Mindfulness and Calming

Emotions

Safety Plans

Connecting and Relationships

Communication