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Decisional Balance

Decisional Balance

A four-quadrant sheet for weighing a decision: what you gain and what you give up by changing, and by staying as you are.

Where it comes from

The decisional balance sheet originates with Janis and Mann. The four-quadrant arrangement follows Motivational Groups for Community Substance Abuse Programs (Ingersoll, Wagner and Gharib), published by CSAT/SAMHSA and in the public domain as a United States government work. All wording written fresh for this tool.

How it is built

  • Everything you write in this tool stays on your device. None of it is stored on a server or transmitted anywhere.
  • No account and no sign-in. You can open it and start straight away.
  • Envelope counts that this page was opened, so I can tell whether a link I sent was used. That count is of the page, never of anything you write in the tool.
  • Nothing is scored, diagnosed, or interpreted. It produces no number that is meant to stand for the person using it.
  • It carries crisis line information and a plain statement that it is not a substitute for care.

This is a self-help and educational tool. It does not provide therapy or professional mental or behavioural health care, and it is not a substitute for it. It is not delivered by, or endorsed by, a licensed professional.

It is not for emergencies. If you are in crisis, in the United States call or text 988. Elsewhere, findahelpline.com lists free lines by country.

Questions, corrections, or permission matters: miranda@envelope.build

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