DBT Skills
Deep-dives on individual DBT skills: DEAR MAN, TIPP, ACCEPTS, wise mind, radical acceptance, and more. Practical guides with examples.
32 articles
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DBT Phone Coaching: What It Is and How to Use It
Phone coaching is the DBT mode clients use least and programs drop first. What a coaching call actually is, when to make one, and what happens on it. -
How Long Does DBT Take?
About a year, and the number comes from the curriculum's structure. What the year is made of, and what moves the timeline. -
A Year in DBT: Month by Month
DBT is a year-long commitment. An honest month-by-month picture: early frustration, the skill-building plateau, and the shifts that stick. -
DBT Diary Card Templates
The diary card is DBT's core tracking tool — a daily record of emotions, urges, and skills. What goes on it and how to use it well. -
The DBT Skills Wheel Explained
DBT's four modules — mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness — explained as one connected system. -
DBT for Shame
Shame is hard to regulate because it tells you to hide. A clinician on the DBT skills that work on shame — and when opposite action is right. -
DBT Worksheets: Starter Pack
The DBT worksheets clinicians actually use — diary cards, chain analysis, DEAR MAN, pros-and-cons. What each does and where to find them. -
Body Scan: A DBT Mindfulness Skill
The body scan is one of the most practical mindfulness exercises in DBT. Learn how to practice it and why it matters from Denver DBT therapists. -
Comprehensive DBT vs. DBT-Informed
Comprehensive DBT and DBT-informed therapy differ in structure, intensity, and outcomes — and DBT-informed isn't a smaller dose of DBT. -
How to Choose a DBT Workbook
A DBT workbook is a self-guided resource for practicing mindfulness, distress tolerance, and emotion regulation skills. Which to use and how. -
BPD Medication: What Helps
BPD medication targets specific symptoms — mood instability, impulsivity, anxiety — not the disorder itself. What works, what doesn't. -
ACCEPTS: A DBT Distress Tolerance Skill
ACCEPTS is a DBT distress tolerance skill: Activities, Contributing, Comparisons, Emotions, Pushing away, Thoughts, Sensations. Each step. -
Check the Facts (DBT Skill)
Check the facts is a DBT emotion regulation skill for evaluating whether your emotional response fits the actual situation. Step by step. -
Urge Surfing in DBT: Riding Out the Wave
Urge surfing is a DBT mindfulness technique: observe an urge without acting on it, like watching a wave rise and fall. Step-by-step practice. -
FAST: A DBT Skill for Self-Respect
The DBT FAST skill helps you maintain self-respect during difficult conversations. Learn the four steps from Denver DBT therapists. -
The STOP Skill in DBT
STOP is a DBT skill that stands for Stop, Take a step back, Observe, and Proceed mindfully. Learn the four steps to interrupt impulsive reactions. -
Wise Mind in DBT
Wise Mind is the DBT mindfulness concept where emotion and logic overlap. Learn what Wise Mind means, exercises to access it, and how it's used in therapy. -
Walking the Middle Path
Walking the middle path in DBT — the skill for moving beyond black-and-white thinking. Useful for teens, families, and anyone stuck in extremes. -
ABC PLEASE Skill in DBT
Learn how the ABC PLEASE skill from DBT helps you reduce vulnerability to intense emotions by building positive experiences and taking care of your body. -
DBT Distress Tolerance Skills
DBT distress tolerance skills are techniques for surviving emotional crisis without making it worse. TIPP, ACCEPTS, IMPROVE, radical acceptance. -
Opposite Action (DBT Skill)
Opposite action is a DBT emotion regulation skill: do the opposite of what your emotion urges. When and how to use it for anxiety, anger, shame. -
DEAR MAN (DBT Skill)
DEAR MAN is the DBT interpersonal effectiveness skill for making requests and saying no. Each letter, full dialogue examples, and a cheat sheet. -
DBT Emotion Regulation Skills for Depression
DBT emotion regulation skills for depression: opposite action, checking the facts, ABC PLEASE, and more. Practical techniques from Denver therapists. -
Radical Acceptance in DBT
Radical acceptance is the most misunderstood DBT skill. Learn what it actually means, how to practice it, and why it's not the same as giving up. -
Emotion Dysregulation & DBT
Emotion dysregulation and Emotion Regulation are two terms that DBT clients hear a lot. What exactly does your DBT therapist mean by these terms? -
DBT for Eating Disorders
DBT is a proven therapy for eating disorders. Learn how it helps reduce harmful behaviors and supports emotional recovery. -
How DBT Skills Transform Daily Life
Learn how DBT skills like mindfulness and emotion regulation can make daily life easier - at work, in relationships, and under stress. -
Mindfulness in DBT
Mindfulness in DBT helps you stay present without judgment. Learn how this core skill supports emotional balance and healing. -
The Role of Validation in DBT
Validation is the heart of DBT — the move that builds trust, reduces shame, and makes change possible. Why it matters and how clinicians use it. -
TIPP Skills in DBT: The 4 Distress Tolerance Steps
TIPP is four DBT distress tolerance skills — Temperature, Intense exercise, Paced breathing, Paired muscle relaxation — that calm intense emotion fast. -
The Levels of Validation in DBT
DBT defines six levels of validation, from listening to radical genuineness. Each level explained with examples — for clinicians and clients alike. -
DBT Diary Cards Explained
A DBT diary card is a daily tracking tool for emotions, urges, behaviors, and skills use. How to fill one out and why it matters.