CBT self-monitoring is commonly referred to as diary work and is used to document what?

• A. Progress notes detailing therapeutic outcomes only.
• B. Diary work, documenting the degree and amount of targeted thoughts and behaviors occurring between sessions or during an event.
• C. A mood chart used to track mood fluctuations during therapy.
• D. A behavioral checklist completed weekly by the client.

Answer: (B)

In CBT self-monitoring, the focus is on systematically recording what happens in daily life—the specific thoughts you have, the feelings that come with them, and the behaviors that follow—so you can see patterns over time. It’s called diary work because you regularly write entries about what you were thinking and doing between sessions or during a particular event, including how intense the thoughts and emotions were. This approach best fits the concept because it captures both cognitive content (targeted thoughts) and behavioral responses across real-life situations, not just overall outcomes, mood alone, or infrequent checklists. By documenting the degree and frequency of these thoughts and behaviors, you create data you and your therapist can analyze to identify triggers, cognitive distortions, and how well strategies are working, guiding more precise interventions.