My Needs Pyramid Worksheet

At some point in a client’s journey in therapy, they will need to evaluate how they are managing their personal needs. They need to be aware of their needs and how to prioritize them effectively.

When a client does not know how to prioritize their needs, they may struggle with important life skills, like stress management, self-advocation, and self-care. Teaching clients how to prioritize their needs can empower them to build a sense of autonomy and assert their boundaries when facing life’s challenges.

About This Worksheet

Building a hierarchy of needs can be a helpful tool for clients learning how to remain aware of and advocate for their needs. The My Needs Pyramid worksheet provides an exercise to help the client explore how to prioritize their needs. It organizes needs into 3 categories: basic needs, wellness needs, and the needs for resolving life issues.

This worksheet illustrates a hierarchy in which one level of needs must be maintained to address the higher level, using the basic needs to create a strong foundation for more complex needs.

This worksheet is excellent for clients learning to manage self-care and prioritize personal needs. It can be used with adults participating in individual and group therapy sessions.

Instructions

The My Needs Pyramid worksheet is organized into 3 sections for the client to complete. Explain how organizing their needs into the pyramid can help them plan how to meet their needs. When the client is ready, instruct them to fill out the pyramid in the following order:

• Record basic needs in the bottom level (diet, exercise, scheduling, self-care, etc.).
• Record wellness needs in the middle level (spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical/medical wellness).
• Record ongoing or long-term issues that need to be managed, resolved, or addressed in the top level.

After the pyramid is complete, start a dialog about the best way to plan for satisfying the bottom level of the pyramid. Use the completed worksheet as a guide in upcoming sessions, establishing the goal of learning how to satisfy each level. Make a copy of the worksheet for the client to keep at home for reference.

Please read the instructions above before downloading the worksheet. You can download the worksheet in 60 seconds.