Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): The Complete Course

Explore dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a cognitive behavioral approach that teaches mindfulness, stress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness to balance acceptance and change, reduce distress, and improve relationships.

Learn a practical 30-day technique to curb repetitive negative thoughts by naming the thought to create distance, pause with deep breaths, and persist for 30 days.

Explore the characteristics of rational beliefs: flexible, not extreme, true, and sensible; they blend desire with acceptance of others’ free choice and yield constructive emotional, behavioral, and stinking consequences.

Explore how the locus of control shapes outcomes by influencing actions and motivation, distinguishing internal and external orientations and noting most people lie between the extremes.

Explore how an external locus of control leads to blaming outside forces, helplessness, and fatalism, in contrast to internal locus of control linked to better work performance and career satisfaction.

Motivational interviewing empowers clients to change by fostering autonomy, mastery, and relatedness, and uses four key skills—open-ended questions, affirming, reflective listening, and summarizing—to elicit change talk and co-create a plan.

Great coaches listen more than they talk, stay present, and remain non-judgemental. They adapt to each client, use clear words, body language, and tone to build rapport with compassion.

cultivate genuine interest in your clients to build strong rapport and empathy, helping them thrive and achieve goals, while growing your dialectical behavioral therapy coaching practice.

Practice safe place visualization to reduce stress by imagining a peaceful place in a quiet, distraction-free space, since the brain cannot tell real from imagined experiences.

Practice a safe-place visualization with guided breathing and sensory grounding, creating a vivid, soothing scene using sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste to restore safety and calm.

Learn when radical acceptance is not helpful—choose change or exit abusive or dangerous situations, stop harassment and disrespect, and avoid using acceptance as a crutch or alibi.

Distract pain by paying attention to others—help friends or family, join community groups, and observe people in detail. Keep a photo of a loved one and imagine a healing conversation.

Count to distract from pain and focus on breath, sounds, or external cues. Use belly breathing and slow breaths, then count by random increments or subtract from a starting point.

Walk away from painful situations when emotions run high to prevent escalation. Leaving creates space to calm down, gain clarity, and reduce reactivity.

Explore how the body's sympathetic system triggers anxiety without danger and review seven anxiety related disorders: general and social anxiety, phobias, OCD, panic, PTSD, and depersonalization.

Practice mindfulness to improve focus on the present moment, control emotions, and separate thoughts from experiences. Build wise mind to balance rational thinking with emotions for healthier decisions.

Develop mindful communication by using present-moment awareness to listen, refrain from blaming, and replace 'you' statements with mindful 'I' statements to foster empathy and open dialogue.

Shift to observer mode to distance yourself from toxic and obsessional thoughts for thirty days. Observe them like clouds, recognize they are not facts, and avoid fighting or catastrophizing.

Practice focused breathing to stop racing thoughts and reduce anxiety by placing hands on the chest, inhaling through the nose, exhaling through the mouth, and breathing from the abdomen.

Master mindful breathing to relax the body and mind, using four-seven-eight breathing (inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8) and observing the rise and fall of the breath, practiced twice daily.

Practice mindful listening to relax by guiding attention to surrounding sounds, observing without labeling or judging. Follow 11 steps to sit or lie comfortably, focus on sounds, and end gently.

Explore how intolerance of uncertainty drives worry, compulsive checking, and overplanning, undermining sleep, present moment living, and overall mental and physical health.

Practice the one minute focus exercise to ground yourself in the present, sit upright for 60 seconds, and commit to daily practice for 30 days to lower anxiety and stress.

Identify how emotions influence thoughts and behaviors, shaping feelings and creating a cycle. Apply coping thoughts like 'mistakes can happen to anyone' and walking break the cycle and restore calm.

Explore how emotions drive behaviors, with strong feelings triggering self-destructive actions that are reinforced by rewards, leading to long term damage.

Practice being mindful of your emotions without judgement through slow breathing, observing where emotions live in the body, watching thoughts and judgments, and visualizing them as leaves, clouds, or billboards.

Learn to observe emotions without judgment through nine DBT steps, including breath, naming feelings, noticing physical sensations, leaves on a stream, waves, and mindful breathing.

Engage in regular, moderate exercise for about 30 minutes five days a week to improve heart health, and exercise safely by consulting a medical professional if you experience abnormal pain.

Practice mindful attention by staying present in the here and now. Notice others' needs and your emotions to prevent misunderstandings and strengthen relationships.