hey everybody who wants official(tm) Dialectical Behavior Therapy resources

deerfolx:

What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?

short answer: DBT is an alternative to Cognitive Behavior Therapy that places emphasis on learning specific skills (called modules) to cope with life difficulties. Cognitive Behavior Therapy analyzes the ties between thoughts / behaviors / emotions, (which provides some overlap), but does not explicitly focus on teaching the skills DBT covers.

long answer (+ more information): [link]

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The Good Stuff (please read accompanying explanations)

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook: [link]

absolutely the most accessible DBT workbook out there. if you know nothing about DBT, pick this one. it explains what DBT is, what the modules are/aspects involved, why the modules are important, and provides worksheets/exercises for practicing skills. the explanations are clear and simple and don’t bog you down with information at all. ideal if you’re working on learning DBT skills alone.

DBT Skills Training Handouts And Worksheets: [link]

this is one of the reasons why i called these Official™ DBT resources. these are the handouts and worksheets (surprise surprise) drawn up by DBT founder marsha linehan herself, i.e. probably the resource DBT skills trainers draw from the most. if you want quick and easy wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am rundowns on dbt modules that let you cut straight to practicing skills, this is the book for you. the handouts are essentially explanation pages that sum concepts up in bullet points, and the accompanying worksheets are…well, worksheets, i.e. guides to putting concepts into practice. it may seem like there’s a lot of redundancy, but that’s because there are a handful of worksheets per concept, which allows people to pick whichever ones work for them.

DBT Skills Training Manual: [link]

this is the book used to certify therapists / social workers / etc. as Official™ DBT skills trainers (yes Official™ DBT groups require certified professionals), also by marsha linehan. it’s a direct companion to the handouts and worksheets book, but you don’t need this one at all. i’m serious. it’s very long and very dense, so if that’s not your thing don’t bother. however, if you’re a dweeb like me who bought an actual physical copy of this book before finding the pdf lol and you’re interested in the kind of behind-the-scenes aspects of how DBT groups are structured and why, this is obviously where you’re gonna find that information.

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obviously these are not the Only decent DBT resources online, but they’re certainly the most comprehensive ones. as you might expect, the marsha linehan ones in particular are Extremely difficult to find in full. please let me know if the links go down, either through tumblr or by emailing bookkeeperfae@gmail.com.

happy reading~!