Building Tolerance for Uncertainty

Building Tolerance for Uncertainty is a worksheet for young people experiencing worry and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). It explains why uncertainty can feel difficult and introduces the idea that accepting some unpredictability can become easier through practice.

The worksheet guides young people to create an uncertainty ladder by identifying unfamiliar or uncertain situations, ordering them from easiest to hardest and choosing a manageable first step. Therapists can use it to explore intolerance of uncertainty (IU), plan graded behavioural experiments and help young people build confidence in approaching uncertainty rather than avoiding it or seeking complete certainty.

References and Further Reading 

  • Watts, R., Cossar, J., Ferreira, N. (2021). Applicability of the intolerance of uncertainty model to Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptoms in young people.Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 9(2).
  • Laugesen, N., Dugas, M. J., & Bukowski, W. M. (2003). Understanding adolescent worry: the application of a cognitive model. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 31(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1021721332181.
  • Dugas, M. J., Laugesen, N., & Bukowski, W. M. (2012). Intolerance of uncertainty, fear of anxiety, and adolescent worry. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 40(6), 863–870. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9611.
  • Boswell, J.F., Thompson-Hollands, J., Farchione, T.J. and Barlow, D. (2013) Intolerance of Uncertainty: A Common Factor in the Treatment of Emotional Disorders. Wiley Periodicals. J Clin Psychol. 00 p. 1-16.
  • Osmanagaoglu, N., Creswell, C. and Dodd, H.F. (2018) Intolerance of Uncertainty, anxiety, and worry in children and adolescents:A meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders. Vol. 225. p. 80-90.
  • Buhr, K. and Dugas, M.J. (2006) ‘Investigating the construct validity of intolerance of uncertainty and its unique relationship with worry’, Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 20(2), pp. 222–236. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2004.12.004.
  • Moloodi, R. et al. (2021) Evaluation of hierarchical model of trait and disorder- specific intolerance of uncertainty in anxiety disorder symptoms [Preprint]. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-418012/v1.