by A Free Step-by-Step Tool to Help You Build Confidence and Tame Anxiety
Avoidance may offer short-term relief, but it often feeds long-term fear. That’s where exposure therapy comes in—and to support this proven approach, we’ve created the “Facing Your Fears Ladder” Worksheet.
This free, printable PDF offers clients and clinicians a practical, supportive guide to facing fears gradually and intentionally. Whether you’re working through anxiety, phobias, panic, trauma, or social avoidance, this worksheet will help you create a clear plan to move forward—one step at a time.
🖨️ Download It Free
This worksheet is now available as a free downloadable PDF. It’s designed for use in therapy sessions, at home, or anywhere someone wants to reclaim their life from fear.
Step by step, you can retrain your nervous system.
Step by step, you climb.
This worksheet shows you how.
🧠 What the Worksheet Helps You Do
This worksheet is grounded in the concept of graded exposure, which teaches your brain that fear can fade when you face it with consistency and support. Inside, you’ll:
- Identify a specific fear that’s holding you back
- Break it into smaller challenges using a “Fear Ladder”
- Organize those steps from least to most anxiety-provoking
- Plan your first exposure in detail—date, place, coping skills
- Reflect on your experience and decide how to move forward
The worksheet helps demystify exposure therapy and puts the power in your hands to face difficult situations with structure and support.
What’s a “Fear Ladder”?
The Fear Ladder is a visual and emotional roadmap. You start at the bottom with situations that feel mildly uncomfortable and gradually climb toward more intense challenges. This method helps reduce overwhelm while still moving forward.
Instead of facing your biggest fear all at once, you build courage by starting small and taking repeated steps—training your brain to say, “I can handle this.”
👥 Who Should Use This Worksheet?
The “Facing Your Fears Ladder” worksheet is ideal for:
- Clients dealing with avoidance, anxiety, or phobic reactions
- Therapists facilitating CBT, DBT, or trauma-informed care
- Teens or adults working toward exposure-based goals
- Group therapy sessions focused on behavioral activation
It uses plain, non-intimidating language with flexible sections that fit various therapeutic approaches. It’s also a helpful way to track progress and celebrate small wins.
