Client Handout
Printable Emotion Wheel (Adult, Kids & Feelings Scale)
Choose an adult emotion wheel, a kid-friendly feelings wheel with faces, or a 1-5 feelings scale. Add an optional name and print a clean, color-coded handout for sessions.
Customize the handout
Pick a wheel style and add an optional client name before printing.
Wheel style
Printable Preview
This is what your client will see when printed.
Adult wheel
Emotion Wheel
Use this wheel to name what you feel. There are no wrong answers — start by finding the closest match.
Intensity guide
Each emotion has three shades: the center ring is the most intense, the middle is the everyday form, and the outer ring is the mildest.
- Joy: Ecstasy → Serenity
- Trust: Admiration → Acceptance
- Fear: Terror → Apprehension
- Surprise: Amazement → Distraction
- Sadness: Grief → Pensiveness
- Disgust: Loathing → Boredom
- Anger: Rage → Annoyance
- Anticipation: Vigilance → Interest
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Open toolWhat this emotion wheel supports
Many clients can tell you they feel "bad" but struggle to get more specific. An emotion wheel gives them a shared vocabulary and a visual map, so the conversation can move from a vague sense of distress to a precise, workable feeling.
Offering three styles lets you match the tool to the client: a nuanced Plutchik wheel for adults building emotional granularity, a friendlier face-based wheel for children or anyone new to the work, and a quick 1-5 scale for routine check-ins.
Use it for situations like
- Session check-ins where the client opens with "I don’t know, okay I guess."
- Alexithymia, autism, or teen and child work where naming feelings is the goal.
- Couples or family sessions that need a shared vocabulary to slow reactivity.
FAQ
Questions therapists ask before using this calculator
What styles of emotion wheel can I print?
Three. The adult wheel shows eight primary emotions in three intensity rings. The kids wheel shows six core emotions with friendly faces and plain prompts. The feelings scale is a 1-5 check-in with faces, words, and colors.
How do therapists use an emotion wheel in session?
Clients who say "I feel bad" often cannot get more specific. Pointing to the wheel gives them vocabulary, and the intensity rings help distinguish "annoyed" from "rage." It works especially well at the start of a session as a check-in or with clients who struggle to name feelings.
Is this based on a specific model?
The adult wheel follows Robert Plutchik’s eight-primary-emotion model, where opposing emotions sit across from each other and each primary has more and less intense forms. The kids wheel and scale use simplified, developmentally appropriate language.
Which version is best for children?
The kids wheel or the feelings scale. They use fewer emotions, plain words, and visual faces, which reduces overwhelm for younger clients or anyone new to emotion vocabulary.
Does the wheel store any client data?
No. Everything is generated in the browser. The client name is optional, never uploaded, and disappears when you close the tab.