Books / Cognitive & behavioural
DBT Skills Training Manual
Marsha M. Linehan’s DBT Skills Training Manual presents skills used in dialectical behaviour therapy, including mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. The second edition was published in 2015.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Marsha M. Linehan
Edition: Second edition (2015); first edition published in 1993 as Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder
Publisher: Guilford Press
Edition year: 2015
First published: 1993
Language and origin: English (United States)
ISBN: 9781462516995
Form and genre: Treatment Manual & Clinical Guide
Level: Intermediate
Historical era: 1980–2009 · Evidence-Based, Trauma & Integrative Era
Covers: Core Mindfulness ("Wise Mind", "What" and "How" skills); Distress Tolerance (TIPP, STOP, ACCEPTS, Radical Acceptance); Emotion Regulation (Check the Facts, Opposite Action, PLEASE); Interpersonal Effectiveness (DEAR MAN, GIVE, FAST)
APA 7th reference: Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT skills training manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
What it is
This clinical manual describes how to organise and teach skills training in dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT). The second edition appeared in 2015; the first edition was published in 1993.
What it covers
The manual includes teaching material on mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. It is designed for practitioners and is accompanied by a separate handouts and worksheets volume.
Research and scope
A 2015 trial compared standard DBT with two DBT component conditions in 99 women with borderline personality disorder and high suicide risk. During treatment, conditions that included skills training showed greater reductions in the frequency of non-suicidal self-injury and depression than the individual-therapy condition without skills training. The trial does not establish that skills training is the sole mechanism of change, or that the same differences occur across other diagnoses.
Reader level and educational scope
This guide is intended for trained practitioners. Research findings depend on the population, treatment comparison and outcomes studied. This entry is educational and does not provide diagnosis or treatment advice.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: Dialectical Behavior Therapy for High Suicide Risk in Individuals With Borderline Personality Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial and Component Analysis (Marsha M. Linehan, Kathryn E. Korslund, Melanie S. Harned, Rachel J. Gallop, Anita Lungu, Andrada D. Neacsiu, et al., 2015)
Reference: Linehan, M. M., Korslund, K. E., Harned, M. S., Gallop, R. J., Lungu, A., Neacsiu, A. D., McDavid, J., Comtois, K. A., & Murray-Gregory, A. M. (2015). Dialectical behavior therapy for high suicide risk in individuals with borderline personality disorder: A randomized clinical trial and component analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(5), 475–482.
A 2015 randomised trial compared three DBT conditions in 99 women with borderline personality disorder and high suicide risk. Groups receiving skills training showed greater reductions in non-suicidal self-injury frequency and depression during treatment than the comparison condition without skills training. Findings do not establish effects across other diagnoses or a single mechanism of change.
Source-mapped claims and evidence notes
Claim 1: The manual organises DBT skills into mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness. (Publisher information describes the modules; the complete manual was not reviewed.) [Source 1: Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT skills training manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.]
Claim 2: In a 2015 trial of 99 women with borderline personality disorder and high suicide risk, conditions including skills training showed greater reductions in non-suicidal self-injury frequency and depression during treatment than individual DBT without skills training. (The study compared three DBT conditions; findings should not be generalised to all diagnoses, populations or settings.) [Source 2: Linehan, M. M., Korslund, K. E., Harned, M. S., Gallop, R. J., Lungu, A., Neacsiu, A. D., et al. (2015). Dialectical behavior therapy for high suicide risk in individuals with borderline personality disorder: A randomized clinical trial and component analysis. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(5), 475–482.]
Sources and inspection notes
Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT skills training manual (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Supports: Publisher records 2015 second edition, 1993 first edition and the ISBN. Publisher description identifies the skills modules; the complete manual was not reviewed.
Supports: Trial population, treatment comparisons and outcomes in women with borderline personality disorder and high suicide risk.
Supports: Confirms the second-edition date, author, publisher and ISBN.