A situational (ABCO) formulation — a simple CBT tool for seeing how a difficult situation, the thoughts you have about it, and the way you respond all fit together.
About This Workbook
What is a situational (ABCO) formulation?
A situational formulation is a simple CBT tool that helps you understand what happens around a difficult situation or emotional response. It breaks an experience down into four parts, so you can clearly see the connection between what happens, how you interpret it, and how you respond.
By mapping this out, you can begin to see how your thoughts influence your reactions — and how certain patterns may be kept going over time.
A
Activating event
What happened — the situation or trigger.
B
Beliefs
What went through your mind in that moment.
C
Consequences
How you felt and what you did.
O
Outcome
What happened as a result — short and long term.
How To Use This Workbook
Work through one situation at a time
Pick a single, specific moment that triggered a reaction — an external event, or an internal one such as a thought or memory. Then move through the four steps below at your own pace.
1
Identify the activating event (A)
Describe the situation as clearly and factually as possible: what happened, when and where, and who was involved. Try to stick to the facts rather than interpretations.
2
Notice your beliefs (B)
Focus on what went through your mind. What were you thinking? What did the situation mean to you? These are often quick, automatic thoughts — such as “I’ve messed this up” or “They must think I’m useless.”
3
Identify the consequences (C)
Consider how you reacted, both emotionally and behaviourally — the feelings that came up and how strong they were, and what you did or avoided doing.
4
Reflect on the outcome (O)
Think about what happened as a result of your response. Did it help in the short term? Did it have any longer-term effects? This step helps you see whether your response solved the problem or kept the cycle going.
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Contents
Your formulation, step by step
Five parts. Work down the map from the situation to its outcome — the dots fill in as you begin each part.
Fill in each part of the map below for one specific situation. Follow the arrows — each part flows into the next.
A
Step One · The Trigger
Activating Event
Describe the situation as clearly and factually as you can — just what happened, not yet what it meant.
B
Step Two · Your Mind
Beliefs & Thoughts
Notice what went through your mind in that moment — the quick, automatic thoughts, before you had time to weigh them up.
C
Step Three · Your Response
Consequences
How you reacted — both inside (how you felt) and outside (what you did).
Emotional
Behavioural
O
Step Four · The Result
Outcome
What happened as a result of your response — in the moment, and over time.
Short term
Long term
The cycle can loop back
An outcome that brings quick relief can quietly feed back into your beliefs (B) — making the same thoughts, feelings, and responses more likely next time. This is how a pattern gets maintained.
★Bringing It Together
Seeing the pattern
It’s often not the situation itself that shapes how you feel, but how you interpret it. Your response usually makes complete sense given your beliefs — and sometimes it can unintentionally keep the difficulty going. Look at your map with curiosity rather than judgement.
Noticing a pattern is the first step, not the whole journey. There is no need to fix everything at once — simply seeing how the parts connect is real progress. You can print a fresh copy and map another situation any time.
