CBT Tools informed by the F.I.R.S.T. Model  

This section is organized according to and informed by F.I.R.S.T. (Weisz & Bearman, 2020), a principle-guided approach to evidence-based psychotherapy with children and youth. A review of the youth psychotherapy research literature and of systematic research reviews led the FIRST proponents to identify five core principles of evidence-based practice with youth. These principles can be found in multiple tested interventions for different problems and disorders, such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and conduct problems; and each has shown significant effects when used as stand-alone interventions (Weisz et al., 2004). This principle-guided model joins other approaches that have been identified as transdiagnostic treatment or modular approaches to intervention. These five core principles include: Feeling Calm, Increasing Motivation, Repairing Thoughts, Solving Problems, and Trying the Opposite. For each page in this section, you will find therapeutic activities, tools, and resources that align with and are informed by these five principles.