Mood Monitoring: Practitioner Guide

Mood monitoring is a tool designed to help clients systematically track fluctuations in their emotional states alongside associated activities and events. Self-monitoring facilitates the development of emotional awareness, identification of triggers, and detection of patterns relevant to mood disturbance. Collected data serves as both an assessment tool and therapeutic intervention.

CLINICAL EVIDENCE BASE

The effectiveness of mood monitoring is supported by multiple lines of evidence:

  • Self monitoring has been shown to improve emotional self-awareness which is associated with decreased depression symptoms (Kauer et al., 2012).
  • The use of ‘distant mood monitoring’ via the use of mobile technologies represents a promising platform for treating depression (van der Watt et al., 2020).
  • Mood monitoring can enhance psychological flexibility and emotion regulation skills (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010).
  • Structured mood monitoring may improve early detection of mood episodes in bipolar affective disorder (Miklowitz & Scott, 2009).

WORKSHEET USES

When to Use

  • Emotion regulation work, helping clients build awareness of emotion fluctuations and contributing factors.
  • To help identify mood patterns in depression, activity-mood relationships and depressogenic thinking.
  • In bipolar disorder to help clients detect early warning signs of mood instability.
  • To help clients identify anxiety triggers and maintaining factors.

EMOTIPAL WORKSHEET STRUCTURE

Task - 5 columns

Date

Time

Mood Rating

Activities / Events

Thoughts

Record the dates of the diary entry

Record the time of the recorded mood event.

State the mood intensity on an appropriate scale. This column can be used to identify other relevant mood states (e.g., anxiety)

Describe the activity and/or event taking place at the time of the mood event/change.

Describe thoughts occurring in the time period relevant to the mood event (e.g., just before, during, just after mood change).

TROUBLESHOOTING

Common Challenges and Solutions

Inconsistent completion

  • Set specific times to record mood monitoring and/or use prompts (e.g., phone alarms).

Entries/examples lack sufficient detail

  • Provide detailed example entries

Limited thought awareness

  • Use prompting and Socratic questioning to expand awareness and ability to access cognition

Restricted mood range

  • Anchor the scale at key points (low, mid, high)
  • Emphasise the usefulness of detecting even subtle mood variations

References

Note: While this guide references various studies, practitioners should verify current research as the field continues to evolve. The core principles remain well-established in the literature and clinical practice.

Kashdan, T. B., & Rottenberg, J. (2010). Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 865-878.

Kauer, S. D., Reid, S. C., Crooke, A. H., Khor, A., Hearps, S. J., Jorm, A. F., Sanci, L., & Patton, G. (2012). Self-monitoring using mobile phones in the early stages of adolescent depression: randomized controlled trial. Journal of medical Internet research, 14(3), e67. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1858

Miklowitz, D. J., & Scott, J. (2009). Psychosocial treatments for bipolar disorder: Cost-effectiveness, mediating mechanisms, and future directions. Bipolar Disorders, 11(s2), 110-122.

van der Watt, A. S. J., Odendaal, W., Louw, K., Seedat, S., & Stein, D. J. (2020). Distant mood monitoring for depressive and bipolar disorders: A systematic review. BMC Psychiatry, 20, 383. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02782-y

Template Information Block

Mood monitoring is a daily tracking tool designed to help you become more aware of your emotional patterns and what influences them. This worksheet guides you through recording your moods at different times of day, rating their intensity, and identifying the activities, events, and thoughts that occur alongside them. By consistently tracking this information, you'll begin to notice connections between your emotions and specific situations, behaviours, or thought patterns.

This awareness is a crucial first step in developing better emotional management skills, as it reveals triggers and patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. Your practitioner will use this information to identify intervention targets and help you develop strategies to improve mood stability. Regular mood monitoring can also help you detect early warning signs of mood changes, allowing for earlier intervention.

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