Strengths List Worksheet
GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC
Claiming your strengths is an important part of mental health, but it can be a challenging task for clients in therapy. Clients are often aware of their challenges and vulnerabilities but may struggle with knowing the personal qualities that give them strength.
When a client struggles to recognize their strengths, they may also struggle to build confidence, which can affect their self-esteem and their ability to meet their treatment goals. It can be intimidating for a client to claim their strengths, but providing helpful tools can help them identify what they value in themselves and create a baseline for building confidence.
About This Worksheet
Helping clients identify their strengths fosters personal growth and supports progress toward their therapeutic goals. Providing a list of common personal strengths can serve as a valuable tool in helping clients recognize and embrace their own strengths.
The Strengths List worksheet provides a collection of common personal strengths that clients may possess. It serves as a reference tool to help clients identify their strengths and encourage self-awareness, confidence, and progress toward their therapeutic goals.
This worksheet is best used with adolescents and adults, but may also be used with older children if the mental health professional deems it appropriate. The Strengths List worksheet can be used in individual, group, family, or couples counseling sessions.
Instructions
The Strengths List worksheet can be used in different ways. A mental health professional may use this worksheet to explore the client's strengths or to help them claim the qualities that make them feel proud.
Print the Strengths List worksheet and provide the client with a copy to review if they are struggling to identify their strengths. If you notice that the client is having a hard time choosing strengths from the list, consider asking them prompting questions, like:
- What positive qualities have your friends and family complimented you on?
- What situations do you trust yourself to be able to handle?
- What challenges have you overcome that might reveal strengths you haven't yet recognized in yourself?
Use their responses to help them find their strengths on the list. The Strengths List worksheet can help with different treatment areas, including confidence and self-esteem building, and learning healthy skills for managing anxiety and depression.
References
Ghielen, S. T. S., van Woerkom, M., & Christina Meyers, M. (2018). Promoting positive outcomes through strengths interventions: A literature review. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(6), 573–585.
Proyer, R. T., Gander, F., Wellenzohn, S., & Ruch, W. (2015). Strengths-based positive psychology interventions: A randomized placebo-controlled online trial on long-term effects for a signature strengths- vs. a lesser strengths-intervention. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 456.
