Pathery’s library of self-help tools

Something structured to do

Therapy takes time, and a good idea is easier to start when it comes as a small, specific task. Pathery’s tools are short exercises you work through on screen, at your own pace.

• A clear first step. Each tool shows you what to do next, so you don’t have to work out where to begin.
• Short sessions. Most take 10 to 15 minutes.
• Your own pace. Use them on your phone or computer, when you’re ready.
• Private. What you write in an exercise stays in your browser unless you choose to send homework to your therapist.
• Alongside other support. People use tools like these while waiting for therapy, between sessions, or to keep things steady afterwards.

Researchers call this kind of tool low-intensity self-help: structured material you use mostly on your own. Reviews of self-guided programmes for low mood, worry and stress find benefits that are, on average, small to moderate. They tend to be smaller than therapy with a therapist. Pathery is a self-help tool, not therapy, and it does not replace care from a qualified professional. If you are seeing a therapist, you can talk through what you try with them.

If you need urgent help now, call your local emergency number.

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) starts from the idea that what you do, what you think and how you feel affect one another. When mood is low, people tend to do less, and doing less can keep mood low. CBT works on one part of that loop at a time, with practical exercises, so it can turn the other way.

CBT is one of the most studied psychological therapies. A review of 106 meta-analyses found its strongest support for anxiety problems and general stress, and a medium-sized benefit for low mood compared with no treatment. Most of this research tests therapy with a therapist, so it shows what CBT can do, not what any single online tool will do.

Pathery’s Behavioural Activation and Managing Worries use CBT techniques: activity planning for low mood, and the worry tree and worry time for worry.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) describes six linked processes (acceptance, defusion, self, now, values, and action) that serve one aim, psychological flexibility. Knowing what matters does not always move anything, so ACT turns values into concrete steps, taken even when difficult thoughts or feelings show up.

A review of 20 meta-analyses, covering 12,477 participants, found evidence that ACT can help with anxiety, low mood, pain and substance use. ACT generally performed better than inactive controls and usual care.

Values Card Sort and Committed Actions put these ideas into practice: first noticing what matters, then choosing a step. Committed Actions is part of Pathery Plus.