DBT skills, one page at a time.
The DBT worksheets your clients actually use — TIPP for crisis, DEAR MAN for hard asks, ACCEPTS for waves, PLEASE for the daily floor, Wise Mind, Radical Acceptance, Opposite Action, Check the Facts — drawn from Marsha Linehan's modules and laid out for real clinical use.
TIPP
DBT crisis survival skill for changing body chemistry fast
Temperature, Intense exercise, Paced breathing, Paired muscle relaxation — a single page your client can use mid-spike.
DEAR MAN
DBT interpersonal effectiveness — ask for what you need
Describe, Express, Assert, Reinforce — Mindful, Appear confident, Negotiate. A script frame for hard conversations.
ACCEPTS
DBT distress tolerance — 7 ways to ride out a wave
Activities, Contributing, Comparisons, Emotions, Push away, Thoughts, Sensations — distraction skills that don't backfire.
PLEASE
DBT emotion regulation — reduce vulnerability through the body
Treat PhysicaL illness, balance Eating, avoid mood-Altering substances, balance Sleep, get Exercise. Daily ground beneath the skills.
Wise Mind
The overlap of reasonable mind and emotion mind
A visual map plus a check-in to find the place where logic and feeling agree — the seat of intuitive knowing.
Radical Acceptance
DBT distress tolerance — stop the second arrow
What is, is. A worksheet for separating the pain of the event from the suffering of fighting it.
Urge Surfing Worksheet
Ride the wave of a craving or urge without acting on it
A mindfulness-based urge regulation worksheet. Notice the wave, locate it in the body, rate it every five minutes, and watch it crest and fall — usually within twenty.
Chain Analysis Worksheet
DBT behavioral chain analysis for one problem behavior
Linehan's behavioral chain analysis on one page: vulnerability factors, prompting event, link-by-link chain, short and long-term consequences, where the chain could have broken, and repair.
Pros & Cons of the Urge
The DBT 2x2 for high-stakes impulses
Pros of acting / cons of acting / pros of resisting / cons of resisting. Print and complete *before* the urge — the grid only works pre-rehearsed.
Opposite Action
When the emotion doesn't fit the facts — do the opposite
Name the emotion, name its action urge, check whether the urge fits the facts, then plan the opposite — fully and all the way.
Check the Facts
Does the emotion fit the situation as it actually is?
Six steps from prompting event to checked interpretation — separating what happened from what the mind made of what happened.
ABC PLEASE — Reduce Emotional Vulnerability
DBT's combined skill for building a baseline that holds
Accumulate positives, Build mastery, Cope ahead — paired with the PLEASE physical-care basics. The two together set the floor.
Radical Acceptance Worksheet
Accept what is, so your energy goes where it can move
DBT radical acceptance: name the reality, the cost of fighting it, the facts behind it, and one willing action that fits the world as it is — not as you wish it were.
Distress Tolerance Worksheet
Your DBT crisis-survival skills, ranked and ready
A DBT distress-tolerance skill stack — TIPP, ACCEPTS, self-soothe, IMPROVE, radical acceptance, pros/cons — ordered by what the client will actually try first, with a clear 'what I will NOT do' commitment for when the urge peaks.
How DBT worksheets fit together
Marsha Linehan organized DBT around four skill modules — mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. The DBT worksheets here cover all four. Distress tolerance skills (TIPP, ACCEPTS, Radical Acceptance, Pros & Cons of the Urge) buy regulation when emotion is over a 7/10. Emotion regulation skills (PLEASE, Opposite Action, Check the Facts, ABC PLEASE) lower vulnerability and reshape the relationship with feeling itself. Interpersonal skills (DEAR MAN) script the hard conversations. Mindfulness (Wise Mind) sits at the center of all of it.
Each sheet is one printable side, sized to be filled out by hand and reviewed in the next individual or skills-group session.
Which DBT skill, when
Over 7/10 intensity, cognitive skills won't land — reach for TIPP first. The body changes the chemistry, then the client can use anything else. Mid-intensity emotional waves call for ACCEPTS or distraction skills. For chronic dysregulation, PLEASE is the daily ground beneath every other skill — sleep, food, movement, substances. For ambivalence around a high-stakes urge (substance, self-harm, impulsive texting), the Pros & Cons grid pre-rehearses the decision before the moment.
Use DEAR MAN for any boundary, ask, or no the client has been avoiding. Pair Opposite Action with anxiety-driven avoidance and shame-driven hiding. Run Check the Facts when an emotion's intensity is outpacing what the situation actually warrants.
Built for skills groups and individual work
Every DBT worksheet here is free to print, free to send via secure link from your TherapistAssist account, and free of watermarks. Built for skills-group facilitators and individual clinicians who want clinically tight handouts that don't look like they were photocopied for the tenth time.
Frequently asked questions
What are DBT worksheets?+
DBT worksheets are one-page handouts that operationalize Marsha Linehan's dialectical behavior therapy skills — TIPP for crisis, DEAR MAN for hard asks, ACCEPTS for distress waves, PLEASE for the daily floor, Wise Mind, Radical Acceptance, Opposite Action, and Check the Facts. Each sheet is sized to be filled out by hand and reviewed in the next individual or skills-group session.
Which DBT worksheet should I use first?+
For acute dysregulation, TIPP is the first reach — the body changes the chemistry, then any other skill becomes usable. For chronic emotional vulnerability, start with PLEASE as the daily ground. For ambivalence around a high-stakes urge (substance, self-harm, impulsive texting), the Pros & Cons grid pre-rehearses the decision before the moment.
Are these DBT worksheets aligned with Linehan's manual?+
Yes. The worksheets follow the four modules Marsha Linehan organized DBT around — mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness — and use the standard acronyms and structures from the DBT Skills Training Manual and Handouts (2nd ed).
Can I use DBT worksheets in a skills group?+
Yes. The worksheets are designed for both individual therapy and skills-group facilitation. Print copies for the group, walk through the skill on the board, and assign the worksheet as the practice homework for the week.
Are these DBT worksheets free?+
Yes. Every DBT worksheet here is free to download as PDF and free to send via secure link from a TherapistAssist account. No watermarks, no per-sheet limits.