Check the Facts: A DBT Skill for Managing Emotions and Challenging Assumptions
Check the Facts is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skill that helps you distinguish what happened from the assumptions and interpretations surrounding an emotional experience. Learn how to examine the evidence, consider alternative explanations, and determine whether your emotion and its intensity fit the situation. This practice supports emotional regulation without dismissing your feelings or overlooking genuine concerns.
Cope Ahead: A DBT Skill for Preparing for Stressful Situations and Managing Emotions
Cope Ahead is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skill that helps you prepare for stressful situations before they happen. By identifying potential challenges, choosing helpful coping strategies, and mentally rehearsing how you want to respond, you can approach difficult experiences with greater awareness and confidence. Learn how to create a realistic plan that supports emotional regulation and helps you respond effectively when stress arises.
Half-Smile and Willing Hands: DBT Skills for Radical Acceptance and Emotional Regulation
Half-Smile and Willing Hands are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills that use gentle facial expressions and open body postures to support radical acceptance. These practices invite you to soften physical tension and approach difficult emotions without forcing yourself to feel happy or approve of a painful situation. Learn how to practice both skills to create space for acceptance, emotional awareness, and a more flexible response to distress.
Opposite Action: A DBT Skill for Managing Emotions and Changing Unhelpful Behaviors
Opposite Action is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skill that helps you respond to emotions without automatically following the urges they create. When an emotion or its intensity does not fit the facts, choosing a different action can help interrupt unhelpful behavioral patterns. Learn how to identify emotional urges, determine when Opposite Action may be useful, and take manageable steps toward a response that supports your goals and well-being.
Radical Acceptance: A DBT Skill for Coping with Difficult Emotions and Reality
Radical Acceptance is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skill that involves acknowledging reality as it is, even when it feels painful, unfair, or different from what you hoped for. Acceptance does not mean approval, giving up, or excusing harm. Learn how this practice can help you reduce the additional suffering that comes from fighting what has already happened and make room for emotions, choices, and meaningful next steps.
Self-Soothing: A DBT Skill for Stress Relief and Emotional Regulation
Self-Soothing is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) distress tolerance skill that uses your five senses to help you navigate stress and difficult emotions. By choosing comforting sights, sounds, textures, scents, or tastes, you can create moments of relief and reconnect with the present. Learn how to build a personalized self-soothing practice that supports emotional regulation without requiring you to ignore or suppress your feelings.
Self-Validation: A DBT Skill for Emotional Regulation and Self-Compassion
Self-Validation is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skill that helps you acknowledge your emotions and experiences without judging yourself for having them. Validating your feelings does not mean agreeing with every thought, approving of every behavior, or giving up on change. Learn how to recognize your emotions, respond to self-criticism with compassion, and support emotional regulation through a more understanding relationship with yourself.