Leaves on a Stream Worksheet (Free PDF Download)

What is the Leaves on a Stream worksheet?

Leaves on a Stream is a one-page ACT defusion script rather than a fillable form. It walks a client through six steps, from Find a Quiet Space to Continue the Exercise. Each passing thought is placed on a leaf and watched until it floats out of sight.

How to use the Leaves on a Stream worksheet

Read this script aloud in session the first time, at the pace the steps imply rather than the pace of conversation. Give the client time to build the stream image before you reach Notice your Thoughts. Expect the image to collapse, and say so beforehand, because clients read losing it as doing the exercise wrong. Your clients can then run it alone, using the breathing count of four in and four out to settle first.

Leaves on a Stream Worksheet Download – What’s Included

The download is one printable page holding the whole script. It opens by naming the exercise as a mindfulness technique for observing thoughts without getting caught up in them. Six short steps follow: settling somewhere quiet, slow breathing on a four-second count, then picturing the stream. The last three cover noticing each thought, placing it on a leaf, and repeating as new thoughts arrive.

Based on Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (Steven Hayes). Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Frequently asked questions

What is the ACT metaphor leaves on a stream?

It is a defusion exercise. The client pictures a stream, notices each thought as it arrives, sets it on a passing leaf and lets it float out of sight. The point is not to empty the mind or argue with the thought, but to watch it as an event rather than an instruction.

Is leaves on a stream ACT or CBT?

ACT. It comes from acceptance and commitment therapy, where the aim is to change a client’s relationship to a thought rather than its content. Standard CBT would test the thought against evidence. Here the thought is left exactly as it is, and only the client’s grip on it changes.

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Tracy Collins, LCP

Tracy Collins is a licensed clinical psychologist with over six years of direct clinical experience in outpatient and telehealth settings. She specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy, structured treatment planning, and measurable therapy outcomes. Tracy has extensive experience writing SOAP and DAP notes, developing insurance-compliant treatment plans, and aligning documentation with ICD-10 and DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria. Her clinical approach integrates cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, behavioral activation, exposure-based interventions, and mindfulness-based strategies to create structured and outcome-driven therapy plans. At Mentalyc, Tracy supports therapists by creating educational resources that simplify documentation workflows and improve treatment plan defensibility during audits.