ACCEPTS DBT

Activities

Focus attention on a task you need to get done. Rent movies; watch TV. Clean a room in your house. Find an event to go to. Play computer games. Go walking. Exercise. Surf the Internet. Write e-mails. Play sports. Go out for a meal or eat a favorite food. Call or go out with a friend. Listen to your iPod; download music. Build something. Spend time with your children. Play cards. Read magazines, books, and comics. Do crossword puzzles or Sudoku.

Contributing

When we’re in an intense emotional state, it’s easy to feel like our problems and worries are all-consuming. Try to step outside of your own space and contribute to something else. You can text something encouraging to a friend, smile randomly at a stranger, donate to a worthy cause — whatever feels right to you.  

 

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Mindfulness Module

Mindfulness refers to putting one’s mind in a state of fullness. In other words, it is the ability to live intentionally aware of the present moment without judging and or staying attached to a particular moment.

There are three ways to practice mindfulness:

• Participate
• Observe
• Describe

Participate

Participate refers to doing only one thing at a time. The idea is to allow the client to let go of self-consciousness, judgments, and fears; and to fully concentrate on a particular activity.

Examples for clients:

• “Participating in only one activity might be different depending on which activity you are doing.”
• “For example: If you are eating a piece of chocolate cake, you are just eating a piece of chocolate cake. You shouldn’t be watching TV, sending messages to your friends, and listening to music while you eat the cake.”

Observe

Observing means directly noticing the sensory experience. It is composed of what a person feels, tastes, sees, touches, and hears without putting any labels on it, reacting to it, or judging it.

Examples for clients:

• “At first, it can be challenging for our minds, because they try to label what is happening rather than just being with the bare sensations of an experience.”
• “One example of observing is when you are listening to music, imagine that your body is permeable to sounds and observe each one of those sounds. You can also experience observing while breathing gently and focusing your attention on the movement and pauses of your belly, how it rises and falls during your breath.”
• “You can practice Observing by doing this activity of mindful breathing.”

Describe

Describe is based on observing. To describe is to put words to what you observe, whether it is a thought, a sensation, or an emotion.

This is a powerful tool to help clients identify and distinguish thoughts and feelings from facts. Susceptible clients can use this skill to reduce their reactivity. When someone describes, facts need to be checked to avoid jumping to wrong conclusions about oneself or others.

Examples for clients:

• “Your own interpretations or assumptions shouldn’t be considered to describe what you observe. Just stick to the facts.”
• “For example: imagine that your mind is a railroad and your thoughts and emotions are wagons of a train that circulates on it, describe them and label them as they pass by.”
• “Imagine that your mind is a river, thoughts and emotions are ships that sail through it. You are sitting in front of it on the grass, you can describe them while they pass.”

Interpersonal effectiveness module

One of the greatest struggles of borderline or emotionally dysregulated patients is the difficulty in asking for what they want. Therefore, the interpersonal effectiveness module focuses on setting clear goals (Objective effectiveness), maintaining self-respect (Self-respect effectiveness), and having conflict-free relationships (Relationship effectiveness).

Dialectical behavior therapy uses acronyms to help clients remember the skills tied to each type of effectiveness.

Objective effectiveness: DEAR MAN

“Be effective in maintaining your rights and wishes”

• D – Describe the situation
• E – Express how you feel about it
• A – Ask for what you want
• R – Reinforce the other person
• M – Be Mindful
• A – Appear confident
• N- Be willing to Negotiate

Radical Acceptance DBT PDF

12 Best DBT Radical Acceptance Worksheets

The following worksheets and tools can help clients practice DBT radical acceptance coping skills.

1. The “What If” Bias

The What If Bias worksheet helps clients determine if their bias is positive or negative and look at both potential outcomes to a situation – positive and negative – rather than focusing only on negative ones. It helps alter polarized thinking into a middle ground.

2. Fact-Checking Thoughts

The Fact-Checking Thoughts Worksheet helps clients determine if their thoughts about a situation are realistic or if they are cognitive distortions. Once cognitive distortions are identified, they can be changed.

3. Radical acceptance of a distressing situation

When a client is in crisis, it may be difficult to objectively look at a distressing situation. This DBT Radical Acceptance worksheet helps clients partialize the event to analyze the situation as critical. It helps turn distorted, negative cognitions into an accounting of real facts.

4. Focus on the Present Moment for Radical Acceptance

When a client is in a distressing situation, it is common for them to focus on the “would-haves,” “should-haves,” and “could-haves.” This focus on the past serves no purpose other than mental self-harm.

When the client radically accepts a situation, such as what is featured in the Focus on the Present Moment exercise, it frees them from their feelings of guilt and helps them take logical next steps.

5. Countdown to calmness

When clients focus on the past or future, they may experience feelings of depression or anxiety.

This positive emotion exercise combines the five senses and a counting coping technique to help ground the client in the present moment. When focused on the present, they can more easily make logical steps to move toward change.

6. Problem-solving

Often, a client may get overwhelmed with their distressing emotions in a crisis. DBT Radical acceptance helps a client move away from a purely emotional viewpoint to more middle-road thinking (a gray area instead of black/white).

This Problem Solving Worksheet for Adults helps clients radically accept a situation by critically looking at the problem and objectively considering possible solutions.

7. Radical Acceptance Coping Mantras

The Radical Acceptance Coping Mantras worksheet is a list of phrases that can be repeated repeatedly (or read aloud) to help remind the client of the reality of the situation.

The repetitive aspect of mantras can help aid in self-soothing as well. This reinforces radical acceptance and helps calm the client to return to a more balanced state of mind.

8. Setting Radical Acceptance Goals

The Radical Acceptance Goals worksheet helps clients practice the coping technique of radical acceptance in non-distressing situations so they can use the skill in a crisis. It is more challenging to try a new skill when we are focused on our emotions.

The client needs to practice radical acceptance in everyday life to become a habit and easier to implement in a crisis. This is akin to learning to play a musical instrument or working out in a gym. The more we practice, the easier it becomes.

Additional Resources: DBT ACCEPTS Skills PDF

DTB Therapy

Many individuals struggling with addiction also have another underlying mental health condition. When someone is diagnosed with other disorders along with addiction, it is referred to as a dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder. Co-occurring disorders with addiction must be treated simultaneously. If the underlying condition leads to substance abuse and is left untreated, the person will return to drugs or alcohol because the original trigger was not handled. Finding success in sobriety can be more difficult for those with a dual diagnosis, but the right therapies can help get them on that path. DBT provides the skills and methods to sustain long-term recovery.

Dialectical behavior therapy benefits people in developing skills to handle intense emotions and stressful situations and maintain healthy relationships. These skills can help someone balance their emotions and state of mind to prevent damaging behaviors. DBT provides the opportunity to learn to handle emotions that may have led to substance abuse or other damaging actions.

We Level Up NJ rehab center uses individualized treatment plans for each client to ensure they can succeed in recovery. We know there is no one-size-fits-all recovery method. Treatment plans consider the substance that was abused, co-occurring disorders, past traumas, past treatments, and future planning that may be needed. We Level Up NJ dual diagnosis treatment centers has medical detox, MAT, residential or inpatient rehab treatment, and rehab aftercare planning programs for those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction, call our 24/7 admissions team.