Facilitate your client's involvement in change with 98 ready-to-print homework assignments 

The newly updated Sixth Edition of the Adult Psychotherapy Homework Planner offers practitioners a wide variety of ready-to-use assignments for adult clients in almost every therapeutic mode. Designed to be used with the Complete Adult Psychotherapy Treatment Planner, Sixth Edition, this planner saves time and energy otherwise spent studying, finding, or writing custom assignments for each client. 

The book is organized as a quick reference, with assignments grouped by behavioral problems like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and more. It includes expert guidance on hw and when to make the most productive use of the exercises and is extensively cross-referenced to the corresponding treatment planner. 

This powerful resource includes: 

• 92 ready-to-copy, customizable homework assignments that facilitate adult therapy 
• Cross-references for each homework assignment to presenting problems from the Complete Adult Psychotherapy Treatment Planner, Sixth Edition
• New downloadable assignments from a supplementary online portal 
• New homework assignments for opiod-related disorders and clients experiencing loneliness

Perfect for psychologists, therapists, counselors, social workers, and psychiatrists, the latest edition of the Adult Psychotherapy Homework Planner is an indispensable resource for any mental health professional who works with adult clients. 

Arthur E. Jongsma, Jr., Phd, is the Series Editor for the bestselling PracticePlanners®. Since 1971, he has provided professional mental health services to both inpatient and outpatient clients. He was the founder and director of Psychological Consultants, a group private practice in Grand Rapids, Michigan, for 25 years. He is the author or co-author of over forty books and conducts training workshops for mental health professionals around the world.

Timothy J. Bruce, PhD, is Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. In addition to maintaining a diverse clinical practice, Dr. Bruce is active in classroom and clinical teaching as well as educational program administration. His major areas of interest and contributions to the literature have been in the evidence-based practice of clinical psychology, psychotherapy research, and the teaching of clinical psychology. Dr. Bruce has received over three dozen awards for his professional efforts to date.

David J. Berghuis, MA, LLP, is President and Clinical Director for Berghuis Psychological Services, a leading provider of treatment for individuals with sexual behavior problems. He is President of the Michigan Chapter of the Association for Treatment of Sexual Abusers. 

About the Downloadable Assignments

PracticePlanners^® Series Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction 1

Section 1: Anger Control Problems 4

Exercise 1.A Alternatives to Destructive Anger 5

Exercise 1.B Anger Journal 9

Exercise 1.C Assertive Communication of Anger 12

Section 2: Antisocial Behavior 15

Exercise 2.A How I Have Hurt Others 16

Exercise 2.B Letter of Apology 19

Exercise 2.C Three Acts of Kindness 21

Section 3: Anxiety 22

Exercise 3.A Analyze the Probability of a Feared Event 23

Exercise 3.B Past Successful Anxiety Coping 26

Exercise 3.C Worry Time 29

Section 4: Attention Deficit Disorder (Add)—Adult 31

Exercise 4.A Problem-Solving: An Alternative to Impulsive Action 32

Exercise 4.B Self-Monitoring/Self-Reward Program 36

Exercise 4.C Symptoms and Fixes for Add 40

Section 5: Bipolar—Depression 43

Exercise 5.A Early Warning Signs of Depression 44

Exercise 5.B Identifying and Handling Triggers 47

Section 6: Bipolar—Mania 51

Exercise 6.A Keeping a Daily Rhythm 53

Exercise 6.B Recognizing the Negative Consequences of Impulsive Behavior 59

Exercise 6.C What Are My Good Qualities? 63

Exercise 6.D Why I Dislike Taking My Medication 67

Section 7: Borderline Personality 69

Exercise 7.A Journal and Replace Self‑Defeating Thoughts 70

Exercise 7.B Plan Before Acting 77

Section 8: Childhood Trauma 79

Exercise 8.A Changing From Victim to Survivor 80

Exercise 8.B Deep Breathing Exercise 84

Exercise 8.C Feelings and Forgiveness Letter 87

Section 9: Chronic Pain 90

Exercise 9.A Pain and Stress Journal 91

Section 10: Cognitive Deficits 93

Exercise 10.A Memory Aid—Personal Information Organizer 94

Exercise 10.B Memory Enhancement Techniques 99

Section 11: Dependency

Exercise 11.A Making Your Own Decisions 103

Exercise 11.B Satisfying Unmet Emotional Needs 105

Exercise 11.C Taking Steps Toward Independence 109

Section 12: Dissociation

Exercise 12.A Describe the Trauma 112

Exercise 12.B Staying Focused on the Present Reality 115

Section 13: Eating Disorders and Obesity 117

Exercise 13.A A Reality Journal: Food, Weight, Thoughts, and Feelings 118

Exercise 13.B How Fears Control My Eating 125

Section 14: Educational Deficits 128

Exercise 14.A My Academic and Vocational Strengths 129

Exercise 14.B The Advantages of Education 132

Section 15: Family Conflict 134

Exercise 15.A Applying Problem Solving to Interpersonal Conflict 135

Exercise 15.B A Structured Parenting Plan 138

Section 16: Female Sexual Dysfunction 141

Exercise 16.A Factors Influencing Negative Sexual Attitudes 142

Exercise 16.B Study Your Body: Clothed and Unclothed 146

Section 17: Financial Stress 149

Exercise 17.A Plan a Budget 150

Section 18: Grief/Loss Unresolved 153

Exercise 18.A Creating a Memorial Collage 154

Exercise 18.B Dear _______________: A Letter to a Lost Loved One 157

Section 19: Impulse Control Disorder 160

Exercise 19.A Impulsive Behavior Journal 161

Section 20: Intimate Relationship Conflicts 164

Exercise 20.A How Can We Meet Each Other’s Needs and Desires? 165

Exercise 20.B Positive and Negative Contributions to the Relationship: Mine and Yours 170

Section 21: Legal Conflicts 172

Exercise 21.A Accept Responsibility for Illegal Behavior 173

Exercise 21.B Crooked Thinking Leads to Crooked Behavior 176

Section 22: Low Self-Esteem 178

Exercise 22.A Acknowledging My Strengths 179

Exercise 22.B Replacing Fears With Positive Messages 182

Section 23: Male Sexual Dysfunction 185

Exercise 23.A Journaling the Response to Nondemand, Sexual Pleasuring (Sensate Focus) 186

Section 24: Medical Issues 191

Exercise 24.A How I Feel About My Medical Treatment 192

Exercise 24.B The Impact of My Illness 195

Section 25: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Ocd) 197

Exercise 25.A Interrupting Your Obsessions/Compulsions 198

Exercise 25.B Making Use of the Thought-Stopping Technique 202

Exercise 25.C Reducing the Strength of Compulsive Behaviors 206

Section 26: Panic/Agoraphobia 210

Exercise 26.A Coping Card 211

Exercise 26.B Monitoring My Panic Attack Experiences 214

Section 27: Paranoid Ideation 216

Exercise 27.A Check Suspicions Against Reality 217

Section 28: Parenting 219

Exercise 28.A Learning to Parent as a Team 220

Exercise 28.B The Two Sides of Parenting 224

Exercise 28.C Using Reinforcement Principles in Parenting 228

Section 29: Phase of Life Problems 231

Exercise 29.A What Needs to Be Changed in My Life? 232

Exercise 29.B What’s Good About Me and My Life? 235

Section 30: Phobia 237

Exercise 30.A Four Ways to Reduce Fear 238

Exercise 30.B Gradually Reducing Your Phobic Fear 242

Section 31: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) 245

Exercise 31.A How the Trauma Affects Me 246

Exercise 31.B Share the Painful Memory 249

Section 32: Psychoticism 252

Exercise 32.A What Do You Hear and See? 253

Section 33: Sexual Abuse Victim 255

Exercise 33.A A Blaming Letter and a Forgiving Letter to Perpetrator 256

Exercise 33.B Picturing the Place of the Abuse 259

Section 34: Sexual Orientation[TB6] Confusion 261

Exercise 34.A Journal of Sexual Thoughts, Fantasies, Conflicts 262

Exercise 34.B To Whom and How to Reveal My Homosexuality 269

Section 35: Sleep Disturbance 272

Exercise 35.A Sleep Pattern Record 273

Section 36: Social Anxiety 276

Exercise 36.A Becoming Assertive 277

Exercise 36.B Restoring Socialization Comfort 281

Section 37: Somatization 283

Exercise 37.A Controlling the Focus on Physical Problems 284

Section 38: Spiritual Confusion 287

Exercise 38.A My History of Spirituality 288

Exercise 38.B Your Spiritual Inheritance Inventory 291

Section 39: Substance Use 295

Exercise 39.A Aftercare Plan Components 296

Exercise 39.B Identifying Relapse Triggers and Cues 300

Exercise 39.C Relapse Prevention Planning 305

Exercise 39.D Relapse Triggers 309

Exercise 39.E Substance Abuse’s Negative Impact Versus Sobriety’s Positive Impact 312

Section 40: Suicidal Ideation 316

Exercise 40.A Journal of Distorted, Negative Thoughts 317

Exercise 40.B No Self-Harm Contract 321

Exercise 40.C Strategies to Resist Suicidal Thoughts and Feelings 324

Exercise 40.D The Aftermath of Suicide 327

Section 41: Type A Behavior 330

Exercise 41.A Developing Noncompetitive Values 331

Section 42: Depression-Unipolar This Section needs to move up to be in alphabetical order 333

Exercise 42.A Identify and Schedule Pleasant Activities 334

Exercise 42.B Negative Thoughts Trigger Negative Feelings 337

Exercise 42.C Positive Self-­Talk 342

Section 43: Vocational Stress 344

Exercise 43.A A Vocational Action Plan 345

Appendix A: Alternate Assignments for Presenting Problems 347

Appendix B: Alphabetical Index of Exercises 358