Table 2.

Overview of Entertain Me Well’s Character-Driven Storyline and Core CBT Content

Session	Core CBT Principle	Billi’s Story	Sample Image
1: Low Mood & Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)	Psychoeducation	•We meet Billi the balloon •Billi talks with us about being depressed last year and getting help from CBT •We see Billi when she was living with depression and how it impacted her life. •Billi faces an unexpected opportunity when she receives an invitation to her high school reunion.
2: The Importance of Taking Action	Behavioral Activation	•Billi knows that she needs to take action to feel better and decides she will go to the reunion. •To RSVP, she has to call her friend, Jerry, who she disengaged with since experiencing depression. •Billi imagines all of the things that could go wrong if she calls Jerry. •Billi finally calls Jerry and it is going well. All of the sudden the call ends.
3: Tools for Taking Action	Behavioral Activation	•Jerry calls Billi back because his phone died. Billi commits to going to the reunion and to helping Jerry clean up. She also learns that Johnny, someone she dated during high school, will be there. •Billi works on her Activity Goals for the week, including practicing talking to people and finding a reunion outfit. •Billi goes shopping and sees two balloons she knows from high school. She doesn’t talk to them and stays in the fitting room to avoid them. •Billi continues preparing for the reunion even though she is having a lot of negative thoughts about going alone. •Billi drives to the reunion and texts Jerry to walk in with her. He is busy setting up. She starts walking in but isn’t sure she can go through with it.
4: Identifying Negative Thoughts	Cognitive Restructuring	•Billi works through her negative thoughts, takes action, and goes into the reunion alone. •At the check-in desk, no one recognizes Billi and they don’t have a name tag for her. •Billi pushes back against her negative thoughts and takes action by going into the gym. •Billi isn’t talking to anyone, and no one seems to recognize her. Suddenly, someone from her math class comes over and starts talking to her. He tells her that Johnny is here. •Billi sees Johnny talking with the popular crowd and just knows he would rather talk with them than with her. •Billi is preoccupied and runs into a balloon who spills a drink and then snaps at her. •Billi walks toward the door, ready to leave, when she is tapped on the shoulder.
5: Talking Back to Negative Thoughts	Cognitive Restructuring	•Billi’s old friend from art class, Angela, catches her right before she is planning to leave the reunion. •Billi and Angela re-connect and reminisce about their time together in high school and all the fun they had. •Billi has a goal of talking to Johnny but is having trouble taking action. She keeps seeing him surrounded by friends and doesn’t think he will want to talk to her. •The reunion ends and Billi still has not talked to Johnny. •Billi and Jerry start working on clean up. •Johnny comes back into the gym looking for Billi. He tells her he was hoping to catch up with her but it looked like she was busy with friends all evening. •Johnny invites Billi to meet up with him and some friends at a diner when she’s done with clean up. •Billi thinks things won’t go well at the diner and doesn’t commit to meeting Johnny. •Billi works on talking back to her negative thoughts and decides to text Johnny and let him know she will meet him at the diner.
6: Beliefs and Our Mood	Identifying and Challenging Faulty Beliefs	•Billi finishes cleaning up and heads to the diner to meet Johnny. When she arrives, he and his friends are not there. Billi texts Johnny to see what’s going on but he doesn’t respond. •Billi is really upset and heads home. She has trouble sleeping and doesn’t get out of bed in the morning. She is really upset about being stood up and having a lot of negative thoughts. She realizes that this is so hard for her because of her belief that she must be liked by everyone. •Angela, the friend Billi reconnected with at the reunion, calls her and invites her for coffee. Billi accepts the invitation and tells Angela what happened with Johnny and the diner. •Angela helps Billi to see things more clearly and encourages her to get back into art. Angela invites Billi to be an art show judge at the upcoming county fair and Billi accepts. •Later that evening, Johnny texts Billi back, with a vague message about not being at the diner when she showed up. •Billi is still upset and starts to respond with an angry text message but is conflicted because she really enjoyed talking with Johnny at the reunion.
7: Overcoming Setbacks	Problem Solving	•Billi is still not sure how she wants to respond to Johnny’s text message. She uses problem solving and decides to send a more balanced text back. She lets him know that she enjoyed reconnecting with him but was really upset that he stood her up. •Johnny calls Billi back after getting her text. He apologizes for what happened at the diner and asks Billi if he can get a “do over.” Billi agrees. •Johnny and Billi make plans to meet at the county fair the next weekend, when Billi is judging the art show. •Johnny arrives at the art show tent just in time for Billi’s break and they catch up and reconnect while enjoying the fair. •As Billi and Johnny are having a funnel cake and talking about what might have been if they had stayed in touch after high school, Billi realizes that she is late for the final art show judging. •Billi abruptly heads back to the art show tent, leaving Johnny sitting alone.
8: Putting It All Together & Relapse Prevention	Program Review and Relapse Prevention	•We catch up with Billi a couple of months later. Billi is continuing to use her CBT skills and feeling much better. •Billi is now teaching an art class at the library, taking walks with Angela, and regularly meeting with Jerry for lunch. •Billi is thinking more accurately and is able to talk back to her negative thoughts when they occur. •Billi has a plan for what she will do if she feels down again and knows that she can do some things on her own and where she can go if she needs more support. •Billi is still connecting with Johnny and they are seeing where things go.