Our Therapy Notebooks / Anti-Anxiety Notebook Review

Ratings Breakdown

TL;DR
1. A game-changing self-care gem: we definitely felt much less anxious after using the notebook! 🤩🤩
2. Inspired by experts, backed by science. It includes 100 journaling prompts, the feelings wheel and so much more!
3. Write down your emotions, identify patterns and reframe your perspectives. 💪💪
4. Glowing reviews from 270 customers, 4.8 out of 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. Need a depression guidebook? Therapy Notebooks got you covered!

Inspired by the experts

It’s no secret that adulting in the 21st century brings with it unique stresses and challenges, some of which may at times feel insurmountable even to the best of us. 🥺

The creators of Therapy Notebooks lauded clinicians’ and researchers’ progress in testing a range of effective tools for managing anxiety, especially Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (“CBT”).

CBT treatment usually involves efforts to change thinking patterns and behavioral patterns, with an emphasis placed on helping individuals to be their own therapists. Exercises in CBT sessions (as well as “homework” outside the sessions) help patients develop coping skills, which in turn enable them to change their own thinking, problematic emotions and behavior.

In recent years, CBT has shown to be an effective treatment for a whole range of problems, including depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol/drug use problems, marital problems, eating disorders and severe mental illnesses. In fact, numerous research studies have suggested that CBT leads to significant improvements in functioning and quality of life – and in many occasions have shown to be as effective as (if not more than) psychological therapy or psychiatric medications. 😱

Talk about a game-changing intervention. 🥳

But the reach of such tools has always been stopped in its tracks by the “accessibility gap” — available solutions are either too difficult to be used, not helpful enough or too expensive. 🥵

Therapy Notebooks were engineered specifically to bridge that very gap. 💯

And given that the leading mind behind Therapy Notebooks themselves is Hod Tamir, PhD, the man knows what he’s talking about. 😎

But what makes them so special? I mean, journals have long served well as tools for processing emotions and putting thoughts to paper for decades (arguably centuries) past, and mental health struggles have continued to remain…sadly.

The differentiating factor here is how Therapy Notebooks are strategically engineered by psychologists and supported by science. If it’s any indicator, the line-up of team members comprising of qualified psychologists (many of whom are PhD holders!) is utterly impressive. 🤩🤩🤩

Why you should trust us

Our team has spent over 15 hours extensively testing and researching the best wellness products, including Therapy Notebooks. Our goal is to find the best brands who care about your well-being and help people live better lives. We evaluate products based on their quality, effectiveness and customer support.

We often ask ourselves a simple question: would we buy the product for ourselves and recommend it to our family and friends? This Therapy Notebooks review is reviewed and thoroughly vetted by Amy Bells, our in-house wellness and self-care expert and product tester herself!

How we tested Therapy Notebooks

I have been visiting a therapist weekly for over six months. I have been feeling anxious lately with things going on with my life. It was my friends and family that pushed me to get help in the form of a therapist. ❤️❤️❤️

Don’t get me wrong, my therapist is excellent at what she does. She takes the time to listen to me, knows which questions to ask, and which to avoid. 

However, when I found out about Therapy Notebook, curiosity got the better of me and I knew I had to try it out.🤔

This notebook is designed to be used alongside a therapy journey to help people get the most out of it. 

I was a little nervous about taking it to my first session – would my therapist be offended that I was trying to guide the sessions? Instead, she said it was a breath of fresh air that I knew how I wanted to utilize my time. 

So, don’t be afraid to take control of your therapy! 🤗🤗🤗

We worked together to set goals and discuss what we wanted from our sessions over the next few months. I wrote these down in the available boxes to keep track of them and return to them after a few more weeks. 

I found it so helpful to keep track of everything that my therapist and I were talking about each week. I could come back to a session any time I needed help navigating a new challenge in day to day life. 

One of my favorite things about using my anti-anxiety therapy notebook was that it completely transformed our therapy sessions. There were no more lulls in conversation where she was waiting for me to bring something else up. 😎

Instead, my notebook included everything I wanted to talk about and work through in that session, making it much more effective. Not to mention I always felt that I’d made the most out of each session instead of wasting money. 🤑🤑

If you’re thinking about starting your therapy journey, there is nothing I recommend more than an anti-anxiety therapy notebook. It will enhance your experience and get you working through your problems within half the time if you were to go without it.

How does it actually work?

Now to get into the nuts and bolts. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Therapy Notebook is premised largely around the idea of adapting CBT into notebook/journaling form. The notebooks contain prompts to help users reflect, direct their writing and also provide effective tools and insights along the way. According to the experts, CBT is currently the “gold standard” of treatment in the psychotherapy field due to the vast amount of research backing the same. CBT has also shown superior results as compared to other treatments, in user testing. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

That said, the team behind Therapy Notebooks have given a disclaimer that the notebook does not serve as a replacement for therapy with a licensed professional. ⚠️ If expert assistance is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

However, for the many looking to invest in better mental health and dip their toes into CBT (or for anyone who is unable to get started with formal therapy just yet), this may be the perfect entry point. 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♂️🙋🏻‍

Therapy Notebooks focus on leading its users through 5 simple, but powerful, steps:

1. Write about the event – Focusing on the facts, which allows the user to separate the situation from the emotion. 🌇

2. Note the emotion – Naming the various emotions felt by the user, so as to understand why the event triggered this emotion. 😀😌🤨😒😩😢

3. Track the intensity – Recording the intensity of each emotion, to determine if an event or trigger results in a more intense emotional reaction. 😠😡🤬

4. Identify patterns – Naming thought patterns, thereby making them less huge, intimidating and threatening. 🔴🟠🟡🟢🔵🔵

5. Reframe your perspective – Taking a more objective, helpful and self-compassionate look at the user’s own thoughts and patterns. 👓

It’s clear that much thought has gone into breaking CBT down into digestible, effective steps. More specifically, the brand offers 2 varieties, which we discuss briefly below.

The anti-anxiety notebook

The signature Anti-Anxiety Notebook is the company’s traditional offering, including evidence-backed CBT exercises. Specifically, it contains the following key features:

• 100 journal entries for when users are stressed or anxious
• Structured exercises proven to help users feel less anxious, and to track patterns
• 5 check-ins covering different therapy tools for anxiety
• 100+ notes and tips from therapists throughout the notebook to help guide and encourage reflection
• 270 guided pages on 8” x 5” paper

The Anti-Anxiety Notebook also sports a beautifully minimalistic exterior – a beige base with baby blue font and a matching ribbon. 😍 The title “Anti-Anxiety Notebook” is in small font, making the book fairly discreet for its purpose in case you have it lying around the house or are using it in public – and would prefer to keep it private. 🤫

In terms of usage, the company says it’s up to users. The notebook may be used either on a regular basis (as part of a routine), or only as-needed in specific moments of stress and anxiety.

The Anti-Anxiety Notebook retails for $38.

The depression guidebook

The brand’s newer product is the Depression Guidebook, which uses expert guidance, science-focused education and structured exercises to help users learn evidence-based tools for depression. Specifically this notebook covers 5 tools:

• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
• Behavioral Activation
• CBT
• Growth Mindset
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

Each serves different purposes and compounds in value for users ☑️☑️☑️

This notebook itself contains the following key features:

• 5 sections, each covering a different evidence-based tool for depression
• Therapist notes and science-focused overviews to guide you as you learn each new tool
• Structured exercises, spread across 80+ journal entries, to help you practical each tool
• A research-based introduction to depression and an appendix with additional resources
• 256 guided pages on 8” x 5” cream paper

The Depression Guidebook sports the same aesthetic as the Anti-Anxiety Notebook – it’s a hardcover, clothbound beige book with soft lavender font and matching ribbon. The perfect calming exterior. 🧘‍♀️🧘🏻🧘‍♂️

As for usage, the Depression Guidebook was intended to be used a little differently from the Anti-Anxiety Notebook. It’s recommended that the usage of the book be made part of a routine, and that users work through the chapters in order. In addition, users are encouraged to try each tool for less than a week.

The Depression Guidebook also retails for $38.

Comparison: Therapy Notebooks vs. Human Being Journal

Both Therapy Notebook and Human Being Journal use similar concepts in their design, but there is one stark difference. Therapy Notebook is best used while the user is enrolled in therapy, while the Human Being Notebook is something that you can use on your own. 

The Human Being Journal is for you to complete throughout the year, allowing you to create a vision board, self-reflect and get to know yourself better, and review the year you’ve had. 🤩🤩🤩

It is the ideal book for anyone who wants to practice mindfulness in their own time. 

On the other hand, however, Therapy Notebooks are designed to be used during therapy sessions. It is a guided practice, just like the Human Being Journal, to help you learn more about yourself. 

Not only that, but it also includes more than 70 journaling prompts for you to use to self-reflect. 🧘‍♀️

The Human Being Journal is excellent for anyone who wants to work on their mindfulness. However, if you’re wanting to explore therapy, the anti-anxiety therapy notebook offers everything the former does and more.

What other customers are saying

Perhaps the strongest testament to this product is the extremely positive word on the street.

Therapy Notebooks has earned a whopping 4.8-star rating out of 270 reviews on its website, with customers lauding its usability, with one user even calling it “a CBT therapist at the palm of my hand”. Many have also praised its effectiveness, with one customer saying that she “noticed a real difference in [her] moodiness and unrealistic thoughts”.

Emily – “This book changed my perception of my own thought patterns by introducing me to CBT. I noticed a shift in the relationship with my emotions and cognitive distortions within weeks, and incremental improvement over the months. It has genuinely changed my life by changing my negative thought habits.”

Kelsey – “The notebook has been really helpful sorting out my feelings and challenging myself to think about situations in a different way. I love the emotions wheel. It’s nice to pinpoint my emotions instead of thinking ‘oh, I’m just sad’.”

In terms of criticism, some users have pointed to concerns with the interior pale blue font being less readable in certain light settings. If you struggle with some form of visual impairments, this is probably something to be aware of. 😔 We do hope that the brand takes up on this feedback and comes up with a re-publication with more readable font soon!

Return policy

Another thing we love about the Therapy Notebooks is their generous returns policy. The brand allows for online purchases to be returned within 30 days of receipt, so long as the notebooks are unused and in their original state. Full refunds will be issued upon confirmation of the return, though customers will have to bear return shipping costs. If you’re afraid of having a post-order change of heart, the company has kindly provided a way to accommodate just that. 👌

Our verdict: A game-changing self-care gem

In a nutshell, there’s little to nothing to hate on the amazing work of Therapy Notebooks. The creative minds behind it have set out with some very lofty ideals, but have also taken great strides in bridging the accessibility gap, placing therapy in the hands of the people and helping people with anxiety disorders. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

We summarise some of our pros and cons on the Therapy Notebooks:

Pros

• Evidence-based structured exercises and guided content, so you know you’re being guided by the experts
• Beautiful, minimalistic and inconspicuous exterior so you don’t feel uncomfortable leaving the book around or using it in public
• Affordable, giving everyone an accessible entry point into therapy-inspired exercises
• Easily available on Therapy Notebook’s website

Cons

• Not a replacement for therapy sessions with a qualified licensed professional (though some users have found it helpful to use Therapy Notebooks in tandem with ongoing talk therapy sessions!)

For anyone looking to take self-care into their hands, and invest in their mental health, we couldn’t recommend Therapy Notebooks more highly. 💯💯💯

We also take this opportunity to highlight a mental well-being guide that we’ve put together discussing why mental well-being is so important, and some of our tips and tricks to better care for your mental well-being. For those looking to invest in this area — we got your back 🙌🏼

Therapy Notebooks discounts

Therapy Notebooks is currently offering 10% off your first purchase for our exclusive readers when you use the discount code BETTERTOOLS on checkout.

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