CBTHero
CBT Games for Therapists, Families & Teens
Play solo at home, or together with your therapist, parent, or caregiver. Build thinking skills through fun, illustrated comic adventures.
No account needed. Therapists can also assign solo play as homework.
Therapist with a homework code from a client? View homework report →
How It Works
Designed for co-play during telehealth therapy sessions
Create a Room
The therapist creates a room and shares the 4-letter code with their client
Pick Roles
The kid plays as the Hero making choices. The therapist guides as the Guide
Play Together
Work through illustrated comic scenarios in real-time — each with their own view
A Real Game, Not a Quiz
Every scenario plays out like a graphic novel. Kids engage with illustrated characters, not boring worksheets.
Illustrated Characters
Three playable heroes and six villain characters, all hand-illustrated in a kids' graphic novel style.
Comic Panel Storytelling
Each scenario unfolds as a graphic novel page with speech bubbles, scene backgrounds, and dramatic reveals.
Evidence-Based CBT
Developed by Dr. Daniela Owen, licensed child psychologist and UC Berkeley faculty member, who writes and reviews every scenario.
Real-Time Co-Play
Therapist and kid see synchronized views — the Guide can give hints and spark discussion at any moment.
Game Modules
Each module targets a different CBT skill. More coming soon!
New here? Read the parent & therapist glossary →
Distortion Detective
Spot sneaky thinking traps and reframe negative thoughts
Story Splitter
Explore alternative explanations for tricky situations
The Gauntlet
Build frustration tolerance through challenging puzzles
Emotion Engine
Learn to recognize and manage emotional intensity
The Tower
Face fears one step at a time with guided exposure
Thought Forge
Craft balanced thoughts from negative ones
Built for Therapy
HIPAA-Friendly
No patient data stored. Everything runs in the browser.
Free to Start
Try all core modules free. Premium adds analytics and more.
Evidence-Based
Grounded in CBT research and real therapeutic techniques.
Free Resources
For parents, caregivers and therapists. No account needed.
Free printables
One sheet for each game, from the six thinking traps to a frustration meter, plus a take-home sheet for every story. Print or share.
See the printables →
Browse the stories
Every story in the six games: the situation, the character's first thought, and a way to play it.
Browse by game →
Glossary
The villains, what each game practices, which game to start with, and the CBT terms in plain language.
Read the glossary →
For parents
How to play with your kid at home. What the format is like for kids who shut down or are neurodivergent, and which game to start with.
Read the parent guide →
What is CBT Hero?
CBT Hero is a free, browser-based set of six cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) games for kids and teens, roughly ages 10 to 16. Each game turns a core CBT skill — spotting thinking traps, reframing negative thoughts, naming and rating emotions, facing fears one step at a time, and managing frustration — into a short, illustrated comic-style adventure. Kids can play solo at home, or a therapist can co-play with them live over Zoom or Teams. The client plays the Hero who makes the choices, while the therapist plays the Guide with a private answer key and discussion prompts. There is nothing to install, no account is needed to play, and no patient data is stored.
Frequently asked questions
What is CBT Hero?
CBT Hero is a free set of six games for kids and teens. The site runs in any web browser. The games are based on common challenges that youth face, and the strategies and learnings are based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and evidence-based treatments. Each game practices one core CBT skill — like spotting thinking traps or reframing a negative thought — as a short, illustrated comic-style adventure. There is nothing to install.
Who is CBT Hero for?
Children and adolescents, therapists, school counselors, and parents. It is designed for roughly ages 10 to 16. Therapists use it live in sessions, including via telehealth; kids can also play on their own at home as therapy homework. CBT Hero can be especially useful with kids who are not engaging in therapy, who are guarded about challenges, and/or who are neurodivergent. Scenarios, told in the third person, help kids think through challenges without having to label their personal struggles. This is especially helpful in reducing the defensiveness that can interfere with a client’s movement toward their goals.
How do I play with my therapist (or my client) over Zoom or Teams?
The therapist chooses Play Together, picks “I'm a therapist,” and pastes the invite link into the video-call chat. The kid clicks the link, types a game name (anything they choose), and enters the game as the Hero — the one who makes the choices. The child can also go to cbthero.com on their own and enter the 4-letter room code under “Join a Room.” The therapist plays as the Guide with a private answer key, hints, and discussion prompts. The therapist controls when the game moves on.
Can a parent play it with their child?
Yes. A parent or caregiver chooses Play Together and picks “I'm a parent or caregiver.” It works best side by side with two devices: the kid plays on a laptop or tablet, and the parent guides from a phone, where they see the answer key, hints, and questions to ask. The game itself is the same as the therapist version; only the wording changes. A glossary at cbthero.com/glossary explains the villains, the games, and the CBT terms in plain language.
Is CBT Hero free?
Yes. All six games are free to play, and no account is needed to play them. Therapists and parents can optionally create a free account to save their rooms and request custom scenarios. A premium tier, with session analytics and more, is planned.
What CBT skills does it teach?
Distortion Detective teaches kids to identify cognitive distortions (thinking traps). Thought Forge practices building balanced thoughts. Story Splitter practices generating alternative explanations for a situation. Emotion Engine covers naming emotions, rating their intensity, and choosing coping strategies. The Gauntlet builds frustration tolerance. The Tower practices facing fears one step at a time using a fear-rating (SUDS) scale.
Is it private? What about HIPAA?
Kids never need an account and never type anything that is stored: every answer in the games is a tap on a pre-written option, and the game runs in the browser. Therapists, parents, and caregivers can optionally create a free account (email address and display name). At the end of a game the adult gets a session summary link — which game, which options were chosen, points, the date — with no name and nothing typed; the link itself holds the summary, so opening it stores nothing. When the adult is signed in, each summary is also kept in their account's session history, which they can delete any time. A therapist's saved sessions can never carry a name or label, so nothing we hold for a therapist identifies a client — which is why we describe CBT Hero as HIPAA-friendly by design. Full details are at cbthero.com/privacy.
What do the villain names mean, and which game should we start with?
The six villains in Distortion Detective are common thinking traps (cognitive distortions): The Catastrophizer imagines the worst outcome, The Mind Reader assumes it knows what others think, The Fortune Teller predicts a bad future as if it were certain, The Splitter sees only perfect or terrible, The Personalizer assumes everything is about them or their fault, and The Magnifier blows one negative detail out of proportion. The glossary at cbthero.com/glossary explains each one with a kid example and a question to ask, describes what each of the six games practices, and maps common struggles (frustration, negative self-talk, avoidance, big feelings) to the game to start with. Inside the game, hover or tap any underlined term for the same definition.
Does CBT Hero replace therapy?
No. CBT Hero is NOT therapy. It is a tool, in the form of a game, for practicing CBT skills. It’s best used alongside a therapist or as homework to be discussed in a subsequent therapy session. It is not a substitute for professional mental-health care. It is not a crisis resource. It is intended as an adjunct to therapy only.
How does therapy homework work?
After a solo session, the kid answers three quick reflection questions and gets a link to send their therapist (plus a short code they can read out instead). The therapist opens the link — or enters the code at cbthero.com/report — to see how the solo session went and which scenario the child related to most. The therapist can then bring up that scenario for co-play with the client.
What ages is it designed for?
Roughly 10 to 16, late elementary school through early high school. Many therapists find it works with slightly younger or older kids too, depending on the child. It can be especially helpful for neurodivergent clients through high school and even college. Many of the topics pertain to school, so it is geared to youth who are students.