DBT Skills Reference for Journalers (Not Treatment)
Four DBT modules as a cheat sheet for diary-card journaling: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, DEAR MAN. Not a second DBT ranking URL.
This is self-help for people who journal between therapy or coaching sessions. It is not treatment, diagnosis, or a replacement for care from a licensed clinician. The author builds Conviction; he is not a therapist.
This is a skills reference for people who journal, usually because a therapist handed them a diary card or a worksheet and the acronyms will not stick at 11pm.
It is not a DBT course, not skills training, and not the ranking URL for “what is DBT.” The practice page is DBT journaling: diary card + journal. Marsha Linehan’s model lives at Behavioral Tech and in the DBT Skills Training Manual. Conviction is not affiliated with either.
I built an on-device journal. I do not teach DBT. If you are in a skills group, this cheat sheet should match what you already heard — then you write it in your own words.
The four modules, as journal prompts
DBT splits skills into four modules. For each: one sentence on the job, then what to write (or say) after you use it.
1. Mindfulness
Job: Notice this moment without immediately arguing with it.
On the card: Wise Mind, Observe, Describe, Participate, non-judgmentally, one-mindfully, effectively.
In the journal: Three factual sentences. No “I shouldn’t feel this.” Camera-only.
2. Distress tolerance
Job: Survive a peak without making it worse. Not the same as solving the life problem.
On the card: TIPP, STOP, ACCEPTS, IMPROVE, Radical Acceptance, self-soothe.
In the journal: Peak intensity / skill / intensity ten minutes later / whether you added a new problem (sent the text, drank, left, etc.).
3. Emotion regulation
Job: Change the odds of the next peak — sleep, food, opposite action, Check the Facts.
On the card: PLEASE, Opposite Action, Check the Facts, ABC PLEASE.
In the journal: What the emotion was for (the function), what the facts were, what you did with the action urge.
4. Interpersonal effectiveness
Job: Ask, say no, keep self-respect, without torching the relationship or yourself.
On the card: DEAR MAN, GIVE, FAST.
In the journal: The DEAR MAN you planned vs. the one that came out of your mouth. One line on which letter you skipped.
How this page relates to Conviction
Use the reference here. Practice on the journaling hub. Product hub for between-session flags: /therapeutic-journal.
Conviction’s tools map loosely — Pattern Lab ≈ chain, The Mirror ≈ Check the Facts / CBT columns, Safe Harbor ≈ body first when the skill is TIPP. Mapping is a convenience, not a claim that the app is DBT.
Free to start. Pro is $3.99 one-time. iPhone 15 Pro or later. Not a replacement for a skills group.
FAQ
Why isn’t this a full skills encyclopedia?
Because a 3,000-word module dump is how sites get treated as scaled unhelpful content. You already have Linehan’s manual and, if you are in treatment, a binder. This page exists to be short enough to open after a diary card.
Can Conviction certify my DBT homework?
No. Your clinician certifies homework. We store your words on your phone.
Sources
- Linehan, M. M. DBT Skills Training Manual. Guilford.
- Behavioral Tech