What is Adopting a Growth Mindset?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a combination of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. CBT is a type of psychotherapy that helps you notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, focusing on how your thoughts influence how you feel and behave. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a form of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy that uses mindfulness to recognize one's psychological responses and be open to one's experiences and accept them, and commitment to one's core values to create a meaningful life. ACT was developed in the 1980s by Steven C. Hayes.
This activity contains five strategies: facing challenges head-on, embracing learning opportunities, reframing setbacks as temporary, using emotions as guides, and looking for bright spots in difficult situations. Each strategy connects to the core idea that abilities develop through effort and that challenges are opportunities to learn rather than threats to avoid.
How therapists use it
Introduce this activity when a client is working on building resilience, managing anxiety or depression, or developing a more adaptive response to setbacks. The client reads through the five strategies and reflects on how each one applies to their current situation. After the client engages with the material, use their responses to explore which strategies feel most relevant and where they might practice them in the coming week. This creates a bridge between the conceptual framework and their lived experience.
Who it's for
CBT is one of the most successful therapeutic approaches for treating anxiety and depression. ACT, a mindfulness-based therapy, has demonstrated an ability to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in adult and adolescent populations. This activity suits clients who are ready to shift their perspective on challenges and who respond well to concrete, actionable strategies. It works best for those without severe cognitive impairment or active crisis. Clients who are highly self-critical or who interpret effort as evidence of inadequacy may need additional support to engage with the growth mindset framework authentically.
What clients see
The client reads a brief explanation of growth mindset and its contrast with fixed mindset. They then encounter five labeled strategies, each with a short description and a reflective prompt. The layout is clean and text-focused, designed for quick comprehension and personal reflection between sessions.
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A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and skills can be developed through effort, learning, and perseverance. It contrasts with a fixed mindset, which assumes that talents are innate and unchangeable. Embracing a growth mindset empo…
Modality fit
In CBT, therapists praise and reinforce clients for their effort and progress, fostering a growth-oriented mindset where individuals are encouraged to persist in the face of challenges. This activity aligns with CBT's emphasis on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns—specifically the fixed mindset belief that abilities are unchangeable—and replacing them with more adaptive thinking.
ACT encourages commitment to actions guided by personal values, fostering a life of meaning and purpose. The strategies in this activity support ACT's focus on accepting difficult emotions and moving forward with valued action, particularly through reframing setbacks and using emotions as sources of insight rather than obstacles.
Common questions
When should I assign this activity?
Use it when a client is working on anxiety or depression and shows signs of a fixed mindset—believing they cannot improve or that challenges mean they lack ability. It's also useful early in treatment to establish a collaborative, growth-oriented frame.
What if a client dismisses the idea that abilities can change?
Acknowledge their skepticism and ask for a small experiment: identify one skill they have now that they didn't have five years ago. This concrete evidence often opens the door to reconsidering their assumptions about change.
How do I follow up after the client reads this?
Ask which strategy resonated most and where they might practice it this week. Use their answer to set a small, specific goal and check in on it at the next session.
Is this activity suitable for adolescents?
Yes. The language is accessible and the strategies are relatable to school, peer relationships, and personal challenges. Adolescents often respond well to the concrete, action-oriented approach.