Coping Ahead With Emotional Situations (DBT Skill)
This week in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), we went over Emotion Regulation Handout 13 – specifically, the bottom section “Cope Ahead of Time with Emotional Situations.”
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| Emotion Regulation Handout 13 from Skills Training Manual for Disordered Emotion Regulation by Marsha Linehan (c) in press Guilford |
Here is my own personal example for numbers 1 and 2:
1. Situation: Perceiving our sales director’s comments as snide and undercutting toward me.
Emotions that I want to decrease: anxiety, fear, and anger.
2. DBT Coping or Problem Solving Skills I want to use in the situation:
- Build Mastery: I would like to practice responding to such situations in a professional way or not responding at all if not necessary
- Radical Acceptance:
- that the comment was made
- that he is who he is and behaves how he behaves (and I have no control over it)
- that my perception may not be accurate. I have biases and would like to look at his comments less judgmentally – not like a wounded animal who is ready to attack.
- Be Effective:
- by focusing on what works
- by acting skillfully
- by keeping in mind my long-term goals and objectives
- by “let[ting] go of vengeance, useless anger, and righteousness that hurts [me] and doesn’t work” (from Mindfulness Handout 3, Skills Training Manual for Disordered Emotion Regulation by Marsha Linehan (c) in press Guilford.)
- Self Respect:
- by “act[ing] in ways that make me feel capable and effective” (from Mindfulness Handout 3, Skills Training Manual for Disordered Emotion Regulation by Marsha Linehan (c) in press Guilford.)
I am putting this strategy into place immediately and will keep you posted on how it goes. How might you use “coping ahead” to help with emotionally intense situations before they come up? I used it once to help me get through a pap smear (a procedure that unfortunately triggers me and causes great distress.) You can read that post here.
Thanks for reading.
More Soon.
I'm curious where you got the manual and/or handouts from Linehan's "Skills Training Manual for Disordered Emotion Regulation." I have her older skills training manual, but the few you've posted from this one look super helpful! Any tips on where I can find/purchase this? My email is alsederberg@gmail.com. Thanks for your time!
Hi Anna — I just emailed you. ♥
Hi Anna — I just emailed you. ♥