Psyfield

    简 繁

    Topics

    All terms About

    DBT skills

    辩证行为治疗技能

    Technique
    Also called
    dialectical behavior therapy skills, DBT skills training, DBT skills modules

    What are DBT skills?

    DBT skills are the behavioral skills taught in the skills training of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). They are grouped into four modules (mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation and distress tolerance) and aim to replace ineffective or maladaptive behavior with skillful responses.[1]

    Schematic. Only representative skills are shown, not a full list, and no handout content is reproduced. The weeks follow the standard schedule in Linehan’s manual, which also gives several shorter ones.

    Select a module or a box for details.
    Schematic. The four DBT skills modules: mindfulness across the top, running through the other three; distress tolerance, the acceptance side, on the left; emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness, the change side, on the right, each with a few representative skills. Below, how the weeks of one 24-week round of core skills are divided (to scale). Select a part for details. Select a part for details
    Schematic. The four DBT skills modules: mindfulness across the top, running through the other three; distress tolerance, the acceptance side, on the left; emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness, the change side, on the right, each with a few representative skills. Below, how the weeks of one 24-week round of core skills are divided (to scale). Select a part for details. Save as image (PNG)

    This figure image is licensed CC BY 4.0: reuse it with credit and a link back to this page. How to reuse

    Embed this figure

    Copy the HTML below; the image and the credit both link back to this page.

    Key points

    • DBT skills balance acceptance and change.[2] Distress tolerance teaches bearing pain and accepting reality; emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness aim at change. Mindfulness comes first and runs through all modules.[1]
    • Distress tolerance has crisis survival skills, such as STOP, TIP (for example cold water to change body state fast), distraction and self-soothing, and reality acceptance skills such as radical acceptance.[1][2]
    • Emotion regulation includes checking the facts, opposite action and PLEASE.[1][2] Interpersonal effectiveness uses DEAR MAN to reach objectives, GIVE to keep relationships and FAST for self-respect.[2]
    • In a dismantling trial with 99 high-risk women with borderline personality disorder, suicide attempts fell alike in all three arms; the two with skills training did better on nonsuicidal self-injury and depression.[3]

    An example

    After a phone call with her mother, Lin is shaking with anger and wants to fire back a sharp message. She remembers the TIP skill from her skills group, holds cold water to her face for a while until her heart slows, and only then writes to suggest they talk in person on the weekend.[1][2]

    Misreadings and limits

    These acronyms are often taken as a do-it-yourself shortcut to DBT. The skills group is one part of standard DBT, which also includes individual therapy, phone coaching and a therapist consultation team.[1] A systematic review of 17 trials of skills training alone found preliminary support but too many methodological limits to judge its efficacy firmly.[4]

    If you need help now

    If you’re struggling to cope or having thoughts of harming yourself:

    If you’re in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.

    Psyfield is not a crisis service. Numbers checked October 2026.

    Sources

    1. 1 Linehan, M. M. (2025). DBT skills training manual (Rev. ed.): Preface to the second edition and Chapter 2, Planning to conduct DBT skills training [publisher’s sample chapter]. Guilford Press. View source
    2. 2 瑪莎．林納涵（Linehan, M. M.） (2015). DBT®技巧訓練講義及作業單（馬偕醫院辯證行為治療團隊 譯）[DBT skills training handouts and worksheets, 2nd ed.]：目錄與內容連載. 張老師文化（博客來書目頁）. View source
    3. 3 Linehan, M. M., Korslund, K. E., Harned, M. S., Gallop, R. J., Lungu, A., Neacsiu, A. D., McDavid, J., Comtois, K. A., & Murray-Gregory, A. M. (2015). Dialectical behavior therapy for high suicide risk in individuals with borderline personality disorder: A randomized clinical trial and component analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(5), 475–482. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.3039
    4. 4 Valentine, S. E., Bankoff, S. M., Poulin, R. M., Reidler, E. B., & Pantalone, D. W. (2015). The use of dialectical behavior therapy skills training as stand-alone treatment: A systematic review of the treatment outcome literature. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 71(1), 1–20. doi:10.1002/jclp.22114

    Last checked against sources: October 28, 2026