Understanding Your Winter Pattern: A Free Seasonal Affective Disorder Worksheet
Depression · CBT · Practice-informed
A psychoeducation and planning sheet built on the CBT for seasonal affective disorder model. It shows the winter loop, helps the client map their last three winters and uses 0 to 100 ratings of seasonal beliefs as a simple clinical equivalent of the dedicated seasonal beliefs measure used in the trials. It is a conversation starter, not a score.
Underlying mechanism: Personal Winter Timeline, Winter Loop and Seasonal Beliefs Inventory (CBT-SAD)
What it helps with
- Turning a vague dread of winter into dates, first signs and triggers that can be predicted and planned for.
- Showing the client the loop (less light, slower body, pulling back, the inner critic, winter beliefs, sinking mood) and that it can be interrupted at any point.
- Naming seasonal beliefs such as "there is nothing I can do until spring" and rating how strongly they are believed, before any work on them.
- Setting goals in the client's own words for what winter well would look like.
How clinicians use it
- Complete the last-three-winters table together in the first session and look for repeat dates.
- Ask the client to rate each belief from 0 to 100 and keep the sheet so the ratings can be repeated on Worksheet 5.
- Agree one or two goals before the client leaves.
Clinical Implementation Guide
- Fill in one past winter together first so the client sees how much detail is useful.
- Rate each ticked belief from 0 to 100 and note the number.
- Write one or two goals in the client's own words.
What the worksheet looks like
| Step of the loop | What it looks like | Where it is addressed |
|---|---|---|
| Less light, shorter days | Dark mornings and early evenings after the clocks change | W2 |
| Body slows down | Heavy, sleepy, comfort eating | W2, W3 |
| Pulling back | Cancelling plans and dropping routines | W5 |
| The inner critic | "I am lazy. I do this every year." | W4 |
| Winter beliefs | "Winter always ruins me." | W5 |
| Mood sinks | Beliefs feel confirmed and the loop tightens | W6 |
Clinical cautions
This is a formulation aid and not a diagnostic instrument or a seasonal screening questionnaire. Having a winter pattern is not a weakness or a flaw. Take a baseline measure and ask about past elevated mood in the same session. If the client already meets criteria for a current depressive episode, use the usual depression pathway. This tool is not a substitute for individual face-to-face therapy or for emergency crisis support.
References
- Rohan, K. J., Burt, K. B., Norton, R. J., Perez, J., Iyiewuare, P., & Terman, J. M. (2023). Change in seasonal beliefs mediates the durability advantage of cognitive-behavioral therapy over light therapy for winter depression. Behavior Therapy, 54(4), 682-695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2022.11.002
- Rohan, K. J., Meyerhoff, J., Ho, S.-Y., Evans, M., Postolache, T. T., & Vacek, P. M. (2016). Outcomes one and two winters following cognitive-behavioral therapy or light therapy for seasonal affective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(3), 244-251. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15060773
- National Health Service. (2025). Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) [Web page, last reviewed 17 December 2025]. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad/
Part of
Wintering Well
Related worksheets
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