Claude prompts for talking through a worry: set it up once with project instructions

CareOps editorial team · October 20, 2026 · 6 min read

Mental wellness information and service guidance published by CareOps.

If you keep retyping “listen first and ask one question at a time” whenever you bring a worry to Claude, you can save it in one place. Claude's projects have a field for instructions, so every conversation started inside that project begins the same way. Below are instructions to paste, opening lines and a summary template for next time.

What should you set up before talking to Claude about a worry? #

Claude is a general-purpose AI that is good at organizing writing calmly. Without any setup, though, a worry often gets a paragraph of empathy and a list of solutions all at once. Counseling follows a different order: listen fully, look at one moment together and only then choose a small step. A prompt tells Claude about that order in advance.

Instructions to paste into a project #

1. In Claude on the web or in the app, create a new project and give it a name such as “Thinking it through.”
2. Open the project's instructions field and paste the text below.
3. Whenever you want to talk something through, start a new conversation inside this project.

Short instructions are followed more reliably. If replies keep running long, add “keep replies to two sentences.” If comfort keeps coming first at length, add “keep empathy to one sentence.” If you would rather not use projects, paste the same text as the first message of a new conversation.

Five opening lines #

1. Start with one moment: “I want to talk about the most recent hard moment. Ask me one at a time when, where and what happened.”
2. Separate thoughts and feelings: “Organize what I just described into the situation, the thought I had, the feeling and what I did.”
3. Room for another view: “Ask questions that help me find evidence for and against that thought. Don't give me the answer.”
4. A decision I can't make: “Part of me wants to change and part of me wants to leave things as they are. Help me put both into words without pushing me either way.”
5. One small step: “I want to choose the smallest thing I could try this week. Ask me when, where and how much.”

Lines 2 and 3 follow the thought record used in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), line 4 follows motivational interviewing and line 5 follows behavioral activation, all in everyday words. Each prompt is explained further in seven ChatGPT prompts for talking through a worry. For openers tailored to relationships, work or family, see worry prompts by situation.

Picking up next time: paste the summary #

Thanks to the last line of the instructions, each conversation ends with a five-line summary. Keep it in your notes and paste it as the first message next time to pick up where you left off. You can also collect summaries in a document and add it to the project, but how much a new conversation draws on earlier material depends on your plan and settings. Pasting the summary yourself is the most reliable way to continue.

If you use Gemini, you can save the same instructions in a Gem. The steps are in Gemini prompts for talking through a worry.

Three habits for talking to Claude about your feelings #

• Decide what to leave out: skip names, contact details, addresses and medical documents. Refer to others as “a friend” or “my manager.” Check the data settings to see whether conversations are used to improve the service.
• Don't treat the AI's words as a conclusion: if Claude names a condition or personality type, don't take it as a settled judgment. Confirm anything important with official sources or a professional.
• Talk to people too: discuss big decisions with someone you trust. Korea's guideline on using generative AI for mental health makes the same recommendation.

If you would rather not manage instructions yourself #

Project instructions are a good start, but keeping summaries, remembering what you planned to try and choosing how to look at a problem are still up to you. CareOps Maeumi is an AI counseling app that takes this on. An intake conversation clarifies your concern and the change you want, sessions draw on approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and motivational interviewing, and Maeumi remembers past sessions and plans so the next conversation continues from there. See how a general AI and a counseling app compare.

Preview how the first session works in our first-session walkthrough. Get the app

This guide shares mental wellness information. If you are in immediate danger, contact emergency services where you are. Support and contact information.