Be curious, not judgmental: A DBT emotion regulation handout for changing unwanted emotions

Abstract

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and its adaptation for adolescents (DBT-A) provide evidence-based tools for individuals with chronic emotion dysregulation and their families (Linehan, 2015; Miller et al., 2007). Teens with emotion dysregulation struggle to understand, label, and accept their emotions; they are frequently unable to modulate the intensity of their emotions to match the goals of the present context. No matter how much emotionally-dysregulated teens and their families may wish it were so, emotion regulation does not include getting rid of emotions. Why not? We need emotions for survival, as emotions serve essential functions: to motivate us for action and to communicate to ourselves and others. Rather than eliminating emotions, emotion regulation aims to help individuals understand their own emotions, decrease emotional vulnerability and suffering, and change unwanted emotions. This article presents “Check the Facts,” a DBT skill for helping individuals with emotion dysregulation effectively change unwanted emotions. We share a handout that we adapted from DBT with step-by-step tips based on our experience treating adolescents with chronic emotion dysregulation co-occurring with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)/anxiety disorders.