Learn, Practice, and Teach DBT-informed Skills

Julie outlines a DBT-informed skills groups method: a 24-week cycle with abbreviated tracking, CBT-i sleep content, ACT elements, and a buffet-style, low-pressure approach with easy homework.

Set up group agreements and logistics by co-creating rules on confidentiality and self-harm, distributing readable, fillable PDFs ahead of time, and pacing information to prevent overload.

Learn to manage group challenges in DBT skills groups by balancing participation and setting clear rules. Address confidentiality and safety by preventing glorification of past self-harm and guiding new members.

Implement a simplified homework tracking tool to log successes, challenges, and weekly intentions, assign post-skill practice, keep stakes low, and welcome attendance regardless of homework completion.

Learn DBT-informed skills through week one orientation, group agreements, introductions, and an overview of DBT, setting the foundation for skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Week 2 introduces the what skills in dbt-informed practice, guiding learners through mindfulness, including progressive muscle relaxation, observe, describe, and participate with interactive group work, homework reviews, and weekly tracking.

Learn how dbt-informed how skills guide mindfulness practice, emphasizing non-judgmental awareness, one-mindful focus, and effectiveness. Review homework, discuss barriers, and plan next week's activities and distress tolerance preparation.

Explore distress tolerance through the stop skill and pros and cons exercises to pause impulsive actions, observe internal states, and plan mindful responses.

Review mindfulness homework and introduce TIPP skills—diaphragmatic breathing, temperature, intense exercise, and progressive muscle relaxation—to interrupt panic and practice with a group worksheet.

Learn to tolerate distress with week 6 DBT skills, accepts and self-soothing, using distraction, sensory calming, and soothing touch to pause intense emotions and regain control.

Improve the moment distress tolerance skills, including imagery, finding purpose, prayer, relaxation, one thing in the moment, vacation, and self-talk, plus a gratitude letter exercise and weekly tracker.

Explore turning the mind, radical acceptance, and willingness versus willfulness as you practice half-smile and willing hands through mindfulness and exercises.

Welcome new members to a DBT-informed mindfulness module, explore wise mind, emotion mind, and rational mind with distancing from thoughts, review group agreements, and set homework and weekly tracker goals.

Practice observing and acknowledging upsetting thoughts and letting them go using DBT and ACT strategies. Use the thoughts in the clouds mindfulness exercise and desensitization to manage common intrusive thoughts.

Learn to regulate emotions by recognizing and labeling what you feel, aligning responses with your goals and values. Practice naming emotions, identify fight or flight cues, and build positive experiences.

Improve emotion regulation by understanding emotions, exploring myths, and using the emotion wheel to map subtle to intense feelings, with mindfulness, guided imagery, and weekly tracker completion.

Develop emotion regulation with reality checks using the Check the Facts process, and explore cognitive distortions in CBT. Practice mindfulness with a compassionate letter and plan homework to track thoughts.

Explore troublesome patterns through dialectical behavior therapy, practicing opposite to action and urge surfing, with group exercises, worksheets, and mindfulness homework to strengthen emotion regulation.

Practice mindful distress tolerance, review coping statements, and master problem solving through a structured six-step method, then build confidence by identifying skills and setting weekly mastery goals.

Focuses on accumulating positive emotions through short-term scheduling of pleasant activities and long-term values alignment. Uses five-senses mindfulness to savor moments and guides homework to plan one positive event.

Master the please skills for physical wellness and sleep to stabilize moods. Explore CBT-i concepts, sleep environments, bedtime routines, and strategies for balanced eating, exercise, and mood-altering substances.

Welcome new members and review mindfulness components, including a body scan, while guiding participants through habit formation steps: small steps, frequency, scheduling, and rewards to sustain daily practice.

Practice self-compassion through mindfulness, identify barriers, reframe with critic versus friend, and use affirmations while tracking progress over a week.

Explore interpersonal effectiveness in DBT by identifying relationship goals, recognizing barriers such as old wounds, and using mindful insight to build healthy relationships, meet needs, and maintain self-respect.

Master the dear man framework to ask for what you need or say no, using describe, express, assert, reinforce, mindful, appear confident, and negotiate for effective interpersonal communication.

Learn and practice the give skills: be gentle, act interested, validate, and use an easy manner to sustain relationships through tough conversations, with mindfulness and homework review.

Master the fast skills to assertively say no and protect self-respect. Apply the four steps—be fair, no apologies, stick to values, be truthful—to set boundaries and align expectations.

Review the core dbt-informed skills and reflect on takeaways. Plan ongoing practice with mindfulness exercises, tracking, and reminders to sustain growth.

Build a DBT-informed skills group by selecting the resources provided here, researching nearby options, and setting a group size of 5–8 with pro bono or sliding-scale spots.

Explore dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness, and self-compassion resources through three core books, and share favorites to support DBT-informed skills groups.

Clarify crisis management roles in informed consent, discuss them in consultation meetings before joining, coordinate with each participant's individual practitioner via release of information, and set crisis information auto responses.

Thank you for engaging with the content and helping clients pursue a life worth living. Stay in touch and share feedback while exploring resources to lead deep informed skills groups.

Explore mindfulness activities used to start each session, from guided imagery to body scan, and empower participants to lead weekly practices with 23 DBT mindfulness skills.

Practice progressive muscle relaxation in a DBT-informed skills group to calm the body, reduce stress, practice mindfulness, and stay grounded in the here and now.

Engage in a DBT-informed mindful activity using soothing music to evoke calm, reflect on personal media choices, and build a ready-to-use feel-good playlist.

Practice mindful gratitude toward self by writing three good things about yourself daily and reflecting on the experience; this positive psychology practice can boost mood, particularly for depression.

Explore deep belly breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing, to calm the nervous system using a four-count method and a visual ball, then start with small steps and integrate it into life.

Practice a self-soothing touch and mindful posture to regulate emotions during distress, aligning with dbt-informed skills, and identify healthier self-soothing activities like warm tea and kind self-talk.

Practice a gratitude letter, an evidence-based mood boost from positive psychology, used in DBT skills to express appreciation. Write to someone you value in any format, even if not sent.

Use this guided imagery to improve sleep by breathing deeply and visualizing a protective bubble that feels safe, calm, and grounded, blocking stress and negativity. Return to wakefulness when ready.

Practice discomfort experiments to build distress tolerance by reframing discomfort on a 1–10 scale and embracing mindful challenges. Try small, silly shifts like wearing a ring differently to notice sensations.

Practice mindful breathing and guided imagery to observe thoughts, ground the body, and visualize thoughts drifting away on clouds during a week ten session.

Engage in a mindfulness eating exercise that uses a treat to heighten senses: look, smell, sound, and texture, then reflect on distracted eating and potential health benefits.

Engage in gentle ocean waves guided imagery to relax, breathing with the waves while noticing sand, salty air, and water on your toes, and visualize tension melting away.

Engage in a five-minute mindfulness and self-compassion exercise by writing a letter to your past self with kind words, then reflect on themes, emotions, and their relevance now.

Practice mountain grounding through guided imagery and breathing to cultivate calm, stability, and resilience when life feels stormy.

Practice distress tolerance by writing a coping statement with your non-dominant hand, observe frustration and self-talk, and learn not to grade yourself under discomfort.

Practice the five senses mindfulness activity to ground yourself in the present moment within 30 seconds, accessible to anyone and helpful for elevating mood, including teleworkers.

Visualize a personal safe place and engage your five senses to create a mental model you can return to during stress, boredom, or sleep, and set a daily reminder.

Practice a brief body scan to notice sensations from head to toe, focusing on breathing and nonjudgmental observation without attempting to change anything.

Name your inner critic and invite an inner friend to respond with a compassionate voice, externalizing the critique to practice self-compassion in learning moments.

Practice a guided imagery exercise that guides breath and visualization of a warm light moving through the body, promoting healing, warmth, relaxation, tension release, calm, peace, and heart-centered strength.

Engage in a mindfulness gratitude reflection that centers on what is present right now, visualizes a source of gratitude, and notices warmth in the chest and calm while you breathe.

Practice loving kindness meditation as a mindful exercise that builds care and compassion for self, loved ones, and others through repeated wishes for safety, health, ease, and freedom from suffering.

Engage in a guided mindfulness exercise imagining your future self five years ahead living with balance and peace. Listen for the advice your future self offers.

Engage in a gentle garden guided imagery to cultivate mindfulness through breath awareness, sensory visualization of plants, colors, and textures. The garden welcomes you back anytime.