Rain Mindfulness Worksheet

What is a RAIN Mindfulness Worksheet?

Developed by Michele McDonald, RAIN mindfulness is an easy-to-remember tool that mental health practitioners and life coaches can use to teach their clients mindfulness and self-compassion. It is instrumental when clients feel overwhelmed by their thoughts and emotions.

The RAIN technique involves following four steps. According to McDonald, the RAIN acronym stands for Recognition, Acceptance, Investigation, and Non-Identification. Nonetheless, psychologist Tara Brach has introduced her interpretation of the acronym RAIN, which stands for Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Natural Awareness. Many practitioners have widely embraced and adopted this revised version (Brach, n.d.; Brach, 2019).

Here's how to incorporate the RAIN Mindfulness Worksheet:

Recognize

Your client must sit down, be present, and observe their thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations. If they have any of the three, they may elaborate and describe it in the space provided under the letter. If it feels too overwhelming, you may ask your client to take deep breaths before or while doing this. 

Accept or allow

Ask your client to allow the thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations to flow within them so they may let it go. If writing down phrases or sentences of what they're experiencing helps, they may also write it in the space provided. 

Investigate

When your client is ready, ask them to investigate what triggered them and what they need or want to feel. 

Nurture or natural awareness

Once they finish investigating, the final step is to be kind and compassionate to themselves after what they experienced. This may be awkward for some people. So, to encourage them, you may ask them what they want to hear from others or what they usually tell others to comfort them and replace the "you" in the messages with an "I." 

How does this work?

It doesn't take long to figure out how to use this tool. The RAIN mindfulness technique includes awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. Here is how you can get started:

Step 1: Download the worksheet

Download the worksheet by clicking on the download link we've embedded within this guide.

Step 2: Explain and fill out the worksheet

Since the RAIN mindfulness exercise can be done without paraphernalia, this step only applies to clients who find it helpful to write down their answers. After you give your client a copy of the worksheet, it is best to explain how to fill it out.

Step 3: Process the answers and experience

While the primary purpose of this exercise is to cultivate mindfulness, if the client is willing and desires to delve into the content they have written or seen, you can offer suggestions and guidance on improving the effectiveness of the exercise.

When would you use this template?

Mental health practitioners, such as therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, can use our worksheets whenever they conduct sessions with their clients who: 

• Are feeling overwhelmed by what's happening in their, such as an unexpected or significant change in their life
• Are constantly feeling anxious, lonely, sad, or any intense emotions that lead to behaviors that negatively affect their physical and/or mental health
• Want to learn how to be more mindful or present 
• Want to learn how to be kinder and more compassionate to themselves 
• Are looking for coping strategies for emergencies that may affect their mental health
• Need a clearer or more systematic way to deal with the stress or uncontrollable emotions that result from that stress

Do note that it may take time to develop mindfulness, so remind patients to be patient with their progress.

You can also use this mindfulness worksheet template to structure mindfulness activities and reflect on their impact. It serves as a practical guide for both therapists and clients in fostering a mindful practice.

Benefits of using this worksheet

Practicing mindfulness through this resource brings individuals to the present moment through nonjudgmental awareness. Here are some advantages you may reap:

Simple to use

Although the client must invest time and effort into following the steps, particularly considering that the mindfulness process can be challenging, the RAIN mindfulness worksheets are straightforward. They are user-friendly and require only writing answers to the guiding questions provided for each step.

Provides structure and guidance

When confronted with overwhelming emotions or thoughts, it is common for clients to forget the beneficial mindfulness steps. By having a template readily available, they are equipped with a guide that can assist them in staying focused on cultivating mindfulness and processing their experiences without being derailed by forgetfulness or stress.

Improves self-awareness

People who write down thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behaviors can reflect on and examine tangible evidence of who they are. If they're willing to read and reflect on their writing, this can lead to improved self-awareness. 

Fosters positive habit formation

Since the RAIN mindfulness method isn't a one-time activity, clients can use it until mindfulness becomes a habit whenever they're feeling intense emotions. 

Research & Evidence

More than a handful of websites and online articles state that RAIN mindfulness methods and their corresponding worksheet are effective. However, when it came to studies and research, especially during the pandemic, the RAIN mindfulness framework proved effective combined with other mindfulness exercises specifically for clinicians, even during online interventions. 

References

Brach, T. (n.d.). RAIN: Recognize, allow, investigate, nurture. https://www.tarabrach.com/rain/

Brach, T. (2019, February 7). Feeling overwhelmed? Remember "RAIN." https://www.mindful.org/tara-brach-rain-mindfulness-practice/