How to design a personalized plan and evaluate its progress

The emotional thermometer is a tool used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help patients learn to identify, measure, and regulate the intensity of their negative emotions. This scale, usually from 1 to 10, allows patients to visualize how their emotions increase depending on the type and number of negative thoughts.

During the intervention, the therapist gives the patient a sheet with the emotional thermometer so that they can keep it visible in their everyday space. The person learns to locate themselves emotionally and to record their levels of sadness, distress, anxiety, etc., which facilitates an early response to an emotional escalation.

For example, if the patient realizes that their negative emotion is at a level 6, they understand that several negative thoughts have already been triggered. At that point, they are instructed to refer to their thought analysis sheet to record what they are feeling and thinking.

This dynamic allows the dysfunctional cycle between thought and emotion to be interrupted before reaching levels of blockage, hopelessness, or crisis. The sheet is complemented by ABC model exercises and also serves as input for cognitive restructuring in subsequent sessions. In the words of the specialist, the thermometer is useful not only for assessing emotions, but also as a practical guide for emotional self-care between sessions.