DBT Skills Training Manual
Also known as DBT Skills Training Manual, Second Edition, DBT Skills Training Manual (2015), Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder
Marsha Linehan's manual for teaching the four sets of DBT skills
At a glance
What it argues
Two paths
Key ideas
Mindfulness, Wise mind, Distress tolerance …
See all 5Read next
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder, Radical acceptance, Mindfulness
See all 3Connections
Marsha Linehan, Dialectical behavior therapy and 2 others
See all 4
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- DBT teaches clients skills, and this is the manual therapists use to teach them.
- It covers mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance.
- Mindfulness and distress tolerance help accept reality as it is; the other two help make changes.
- It explains how to orient clients, run group sessions and tailor curricula; handouts and worksheets are in a separate volume.
Why it matters
- The standard skills manual for DBT practitioners.
- Judith Beck recommends it to clinicians of any modality, since the skills can be added to other treatments.
Key facts
- Author
- Marsha M. Linehan1
- Published
- Second edition © 2015; first edition © 1993; revised edition 20251
- First edition title
- Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder2
- Publisher
- Guilford Press1
- ISBN
- 9781462516995 (2nd ed.); 9781462556359 (revised ed. paperback)1
- Pages
- 502 (revised edition)1
- Audience
- DBT skills trainers and other clinicians1
- Influence
- Guilford says it is used by over 1,200,000 clinicians and clients1
What it argues
-
Two paths2
Mindfulness and distress tolerance lead to accepting reality; emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness are change skills (Linehan).
Key ideas
-
Mindfulness3
The foundation for the other skills: attending to the present moment, nonjudgmentally.
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Wise mind3
Six mindfulness skills, three 'what' (observe, describe, participate) and three 'how', bring the client toward wise mind.
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Distress tolerance3
Accepting oneself and the situation without judgment, so crises do not lead to destructive choices.
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Emotion regulation3
Learning to understand and name emotions, and staying stable in a crisis.
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Running the groups1
Orienting clients, structuring sessions, troubleshooting, and tailoring curricula to settings and populations.
Read next
-
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder
The theory and full treatment the skills belong to.
-
One of the best-known distress tolerance skills.
-
The core skill behind the rest.
Connections
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
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