Most Helpful DBT Skills

In Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), the Emotion Regulation module’s main points are: learning about emotions, changing emotional responses, and finding ways to reduce vulnerabilities to Emotion Mind. Learning and practicing these skills help support emotion management, bring awareness to vulnerabilities, and encourage us to accumulate positive emotions and experiences to build a life worth living.…

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DBT Skills in Academic Settings

DBT academic setting college school

School can be especially difficult for many of our clients. We often see them struggle to stay focused in class, follow through on attending, and many also have issues finding connection with others in school. Though they frequently discuss their use of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills throughout their day at OPI, sometimes it is…

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Paddle Boarding for Mindfulness (DBT)

Paddle Boarding and Mindfulness

For the past year, paddle boarding has become my favorite mindfulness experience during which I balance mind and body. It allows me to turn off the chatter in mind that is constantly making lists, assessing what I need to do, and worrying about the future. I am able to fully focus one-mindfully, a skill in…

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DBT Self-Soothing Ideas for Men

Self-soothing is a common DBT practice that describes a way to comfort yourself during times of distress. It often focuses on one or more of your five senses – touch, taste, sight, smell, and/or sound. It has, over time, been more commonly associated with something women do, as a lot of the suggestions of self-soothing…

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Calming the Terrible Twos Using DBT Skills

There is that look that I have come to know well in my toddler…the one where the smile starts to turn down, the lip starts to quiver, the face starts to redden, and that first tear runs down the cheek. There is that moment of panic as I wait to see how this will turn…

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DBT FAST Skills: A Real Life Example

DBT FAST skills video

Recently while brunching with a friend, she was telling me about her upcoming trip to Europe. She was going to France for a school trip, and her classmates were going to continue on to Greece for a couple of days after. She shared that she recently made the decision to not travel to Greece after…

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Guidelines for Relationship Effectiveness: Keeping a Relationship Using DBT GIVE Skills

My college roommate worked for the on-campus police substation, and as you can imagine they worked with a variety of students, professionals, and even the local community. More often than not, they were visiting the substation to complain about tickets, requesting a vehicle release, or reporting crimes. Watching her handle the never-ending line of disgruntled…

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How Hope Heals (and practical steps for tapping into it)

“Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all.” ― Emily Dickinson What is it? Though it is hard to define exactly, hope is perhaps the most important part of recovery. It has been described as the belief that things will…

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DBT Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills Video | Part One: DEAR MAN

Curious to see what the DBT skills looks like in action? Check out Optimum Performance Institute‘s new DBT skills animated videos as a reference to get a better understanding! For several months we have been in the process of creating a series based on the four modules of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which include Mindfulness, Interpersonal…

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BPD & Mindfulness: Learning to Be a Peaceful Warrior

I remember reading “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior” by Dan Millman, and instantly I fell in love. What is this emotion of love? And how does it distract or guide us towards something more? Who are we as people? What is the core of humanity? These types of critical thinking questions and analysis led…

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Use Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) FAST Skills to Balance Keeping Relationships with Keeping Respect for Yourself

This post is the third of a three-part series about Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills, adapted from Marsha M. Linehan’s book, Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder (1993, The Guilford Press, New York, NY). In this three part series, we have looked at DEARMAN skills, the DBT Interpersonal Effectiveness acronym for Objectives Effectiveness, or getting…

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Still the Body, Still the Mind: A Mindfulness Group Activity

Still the body, still the mind…. Sometimes when we become wrapped up in our emotions, we need a quick and effective way to still the mind and get to a more regulated state. In Mindfulness Club, we try to incorporate fun and different ways to do this that are realistic for everyday life. Recently, we…

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