Thought Reframe Pairs – A Fun CBT Game to Inspire Positive Thinking

About This Resource:

The Thought Reframe Pairs game is an engaging way to help children and teens identify unhelpful thoughts and practise reframing them into more positive ones. Inspired by Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), this fun activity makes learning about healthy thinking patterns accessible and interactive. Players match unhelpful thoughts with their reframe pairs, turning a therapeutic exercise into a game!

Features:

• Thought Reframe Matching Game: Includes cards with common unhelpful thoughts and their corresponding reframed thoughts.
• Interactive and Fun: Transform cognitive reframing into a game of memory or pairs to keep children engaged.
• Blank Template: Personalise the game by adding your own thoughts and reframes.
• Answer Sheet Included: An answer sheet provides guidance, making it easy to use in various settings such as classrooms, therapy sessions, or at home.

How to Play:

1. Cut Out: Begin by cutting out all the thought and reframe cards. You should have two separate piles — one with unhelpful thoughts and another with positive reframes.
2. Set Up: Shuffle both piles and place them face down in two separate grids.
3. Play: Players take turns flipping over one thought card and one reframe card, trying to match the unhelpful thought with its corresponding positive reframe.
4. Match or Try Again: If the player makes a match, they keep the pair. If not, they flip the cards back over and try again during their next turn.
5. End of Game: The game ends when all the pairs have been matched. The player with the most pairs wins!
6. Use the Answer Sheet: Players can use the provided answer sheet to double-check if they've matched the correct pairs.

Ideas for Use:

• Great for group therapy or classroom activities to encourage discussion around feelings and thought patterns.
• Use as an individual activity for children to self-reflect on their thoughts and learn more effective ways of coping with negative thinking.
• Ideal for role-playing games where children can discuss their personal experiences with reframing unhelpful thoughts.

Benefits:

• Promotes Positive Thinking: Helps children and teens reframe unhelpful thoughts into more constructive and supportive ones.
• Encourages Cognitive Flexibility: Strengthens the ability to view situations from different perspectives, a critical CBT skill.
• Easy to Use: Suitable for classrooms, counselling, or home use, with simple instructions that make it easy for anyone to facilitate.

The Thought Reframe Pairs game is an engaging way to teach positive thinking by helping children and teens identify and reframe unhelpful thoughts. It’s a fun, interactive tool for parents, teachers and therapists looking to inspire cognitive flexibility and resilience.