Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: check in with your foundations
Reviewed By
Donna Bottomley - Psychotherapist, MBABCP accredited, 10+ years in CBT and EMDR
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy reminds us that our wellbeing rests on meeting our basic human needs first. If safety, stability, or connection feel shaky - then everything else can feel harder too.
Free to try · Responses are private & encrypted
Related tools
What does the Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs Journal cover?
- Safety: how secure you feel at home and day to day
- Connection: how close you feel to the people around you
- Self-esteem: how you feel about yourself and your achievements
- Purpose: how often you feel meaning in what you do
- Whether your basic needs are being met
Who is this Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs Journal for?
Helpful if you:
🏠 Feel unsettled and cannot pin down why
🧱 Suspect the basics are getting in the way of everything else
🗺️ Want a structured check-in across the main areas of life
For therapists:
Use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a broad check-in during assessment or when a client feels stuck. Unmet safety or connection needs often explain why higher-level work is not landing. Fully HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Dr Harriet Mellotte
Clinical Psychologist & CBT Therapist, BABCP
“Offload is a fantastic resource for both clients and therapists. The world of CBT has been lacking an app which enables the sharing of CBT worksheets and homework tasks between clients and therapists, but Offload completely does this, making the service we offer more professional and the benefits to clients greater.”
Frequently asked questions
What is Maslow's hierarchy of needs?
Abraham Maslow proposed that human needs sit in levels, usually drawn as a pyramid: physical needs like food and shelter at the base, then safety, connection, self-esteem and, at the top, self-actualisation or a sense of purpose. When lower needs are shaky, it is hard to focus on the higher ones.
How is this used in therapy?
As a check-in. If someone is struggling with purpose or confidence but their housing, safety or relationships are unstable, therapy may need to address those foundations first. This journal asks about each level so you and your therapist can see where the gaps are.
Is Maslow's hierarchy scientifically accurate?
It is a useful framework rather than a strict law. Research shows people can pursue meaning even when basic needs are unmet, and the levels overlap more than a pyramid suggests. Its value in therapy is practical: it reminds us that wellbeing rests on basics that are easy to overlook.
Can my therapist assign this journal?
Yes. Therapists on Offload can use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a broad check-in during assessment or when a client feels stuck, since unmet safety or connection needs often explain why other work is not landing. Your responses are available for them to review beforehand. Fully HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Are you a therapist?
Assign this therapy tool and 200+ other interactive tools directly to your clients. Build personalised care plans, customise tools, and review client responses before sessions. HIPAA and GDPR compliant.
Explore Offload for therapistsReferences
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396. - The original foundational paper introducing Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, often cited in both humanistic and broader psychological research that underpins need-based motivational explanations relevant to therapeutic models. Calabro, L. E. (1997). “First Things First”: Maslow’s Hierarchy as a Framework for REBT in Promoting Disability Adjustment During Rehabilitation. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 15(3). - This paper explicitly uses Maslow’s hierarchy metaphor within a cognitive-behavioral therapy family model (REBT) to prioritise intervention foci based on unmet needs, illustrating a bridge between the needs hierarchy and CBT-informed practice. McLeod, S. A. (2026). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Simply Psychology review. - Although a literature review rather than original research, this extensively referenced and updated scholarly overview summarises empirical and theoretical work on Maslow’s hierarchy, including its applications and critiques within psychology (motivational theories often integrated with cognitive frameworks in therapeutic settings).
