Metacognitive Belief-Testing
Test out a belief you hold about a thinking habit such as worry or rumination - examining how necessary, helpful, and controllable that habit really is.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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Metacognitive Belief-Testing
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Pick a Thinking Habit
Choose one mental habit to focus on - not a single worry, but the activity itself.
The Belief About the Habit
We are interested in what you believe about the thinking itself - not whether the thoughts are true.
Design a Test
Plan a small experiment that directly puts the belief to the test.
What Actually Happened
Complete this after running the test.
Update the Belief
Re-rate the same belief in light of what you found.
Patterns Across Tests
Use this once you have run a few tests to look at the bigger picture.
| # | Date | Belief tested | Predicted outcome | What happened | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Next Steps
Choose the metacognitive strategies you will keep practising.
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When to use ‘Metacognitive Belief-Testing’
‘Metacognitive Belief-Testing’ is an interactive metacognitive therapy (MCT) worksheet, for work with generalised anxiety (GAD). Consider this resource when exploring beliefs about thinking, especially when a client feels drawn into worry or rumination or finds it difficult to shift their attention.
It is designed to be used within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it, works through it collaboratively, and helps make sense of what it surfaces. You can preview the full worksheet above, then assign it digitally for clients to complete between sessions on any device or download it as a print-ready PDF.
How it works
Most people work through it in around 20 minutes. It moves through six short steps:
- Pick a Thinking Habit: Choose one mental habit to focus on - not a single worry, but the activity itself.
- The Belief About the Habit: We are interested in what you believe about the thinking itself - not whether the thoughts are true.
- Design a Test: Plan a small experiment that directly puts the belief to the test.
- What Actually Happened: Complete this after running the test.
- Update the Belief: Re-rate the same belief in light of what you found.
- Patterns Across Tests: Use this once you have run a few tests to look at the bigger picture.
Completed on the Formulate platform, your client's answers are saved automatically and shared straight back to you, so you can review them before the next session rather than waiting for a paper copy to come back.
The MCT approach behind it
‘Metacognitive Belief-Testing’ draws on metacognitive therapy (MCT). MCT focuses on beliefs about thinking, such as whether worry is useful or feels uncontrollable. It explores worry and rumination as processes, rather than examining only the content of individual thoughts. Attention is part of this work: noticing where it goes, how it becomes fixed and what happens when the client relates differently to thoughts.
It is intended as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis. The therapist can help decide how it fits the work and discuss what emerges.
Evidence & sources
This worksheet draws on metacognitive therapy. Key sources include:
- Wells, A. (1995). Meta-cognition and worry: A cognitive model of generalized anxiety disorder. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23(3), 301-320.
- Wells, A. (2009). Metacognitive Therapy for Anxiety and Depression. New York: Guilford Press.
For use alongside professional support
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- SANEline: 0800 689 5555 — 4:30pm–10:30pm, every day
More Generalised Anxiety (GAD) worksheets
View all Generalised Anxiety (GAD) worksheets →Generalised Anxiety (GAD)
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A formulation based on Wells' metacognitive model of GAD — mapping the role of positive and negative beliefs about worry in maintaining the worry cycle.
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Track worries as they occur, classify them, practise postponing hypothetical worries to a designated worry period, and record outcomes.
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Positive Meta-Beliefs About Worry
Identify and challenge positive beliefs about worrying — the beliefs that keep you worrying because you think it helps.
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