Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills Quick Reference List

Skills Training AAA Model Emotion Regulation Skills Problem Solving

Awareness Goals are to: 1. Identify Problem
Acceptance  Understand Emotional Experience 2. Gather Data
Action  Reduce Emotional Vulnerability 3. Analyze Data
4. Find Solution
 Decrease Emotional Suffering
Mindfulness Skills Behavior Analysis
How Skills What Skills Accumulate Positive Experiences 1. Name the behavior
One-mindfully Observe Build Mastery 2. List vulnerabilities
Non-judgmentally Describe Cope ahead of time 3. Prompting event
Effective Participate 4. Problem thoughts
Treat 5. Problem emotions
Physical 6. Short term positive
iLlness consequences
Distress Tolerance Skills Eat balanced meals 7. Long term negative
Avoid mood-altering drugs Consequence
Activities Sleep balanced 8. Find a skill to do
Contributing Exercise instead of behavior
Comparisons
Emotion opposites Create Smart Goals
Pushing away Validate
Thoughts Imagine Specific
Sensations Take small steps Meaningful
Applaud yourself Achievable
Imagery Lighten your load Recordable
Meaning Sweeten the pot Timeline plan
Prayer
Relaxation Interpersonal
 Pros & Cons of changing emotion
One thing at a time Effectiveness Skills
 Be mindful of current emotion
Vacation
 Figure out what actions your
Encouragement Describe
emotions are motivating you to do Express
 For justified emotions use opposite Assert
Self Soothe with the Senses to emotion action Reinforce
 For unjustified emotions prompt
 Taste emotion opposite to current one Mindful
 Smell  Check the facts Appear confident
 Sight Negotiate
 Hearing
 Touch Gentle
Reality Acceptance Skills Interested
Temperature Validate
Pain + Non-acceptance = Suffering Easy manner
Intense physical exertion
Paced breathing  Turn the Mind Fair
 Radical Acceptance Apology free
 Practice Willingness Stick to values
 Notice Willfulness Truthfulness

Rachel Gill © 2013, ref. Dr. Marsha M. Linehan, Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder © 1993 Guilford Press