DBT Skills in Schools by Mazza, James J.; Dexter-Mazza, Elizabeth T.; Miller, Alec L.;

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills have been demonstrated to be effective in helping adolescents manage difficult emotional situations, cope with stress, and make better decisions. From leading experts in DBT and school-based interventions, this unique manual offers the first nonclinical application of DBT skills. The book presents an innovative social–emotional learning curriculum designed to be taught at the universal level in grades 6–12. Explicit instructions for teaching the skills--mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness--are provided in 30 lesson plans, complete with numerous reproducible tools: 99 handouts, a diary card, and three student tests. The large-size format facilitates photocopying; the reproducible materials can also be downloaded and printed.

See also the authors’ program for younger students: DBT Skills in Elementary Schools: Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving in Grades K-5 (DBT STEPS-E)

This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series, edited by Sandra M. Chafouleas.

"Consistent with DBT and dialectics, the authors have found an ingenious way of expanding the reach and implementation of DBT skills to the universal population of adolescents in educational settings. The DBT STEPS-A curriculum offers a fabulous upstream approach for all adolescents to develop DBT skills and reduce the likelihood of emotionally dysregulated behaviors….Your ability to take this book and use it to teach schoolchildren a wealth of effective life and emotion regulation skills has the possibility of helping more than you can imagine."--from the Foreword by Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, Professor and Director Emeritus, Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics, University of Washington; developer of DBT

"A truly wonderful curriculum to support social–emotional learning (SEL). The authors give school personnel needed tools to teach SEL skills both universally and to targeted high-risk students. The manual is clear, concise, and comprehensive, while providing enough flexibility that school-based mental health professionals and teachers can adapt it to their schools&&&39; particular needs. This book is an important resource for anyone who is charged with helping students to become more emotionally adept, manage stress, and live more balanced lives."--Michael Hollander, PhD, Director of Training and Consultations, 3East DBT Services, McLean Hospital; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"The authors of this groundbreaking book--all DBT experts--have done something no one else has done before: created a curriculum based on DBT skills that can be used with a broad range of middle and high school students. The curriculum is presented in a highly structured, useful, and practical manner. As most mental health services for youth are delivered in schools, this book should be required reading for all school-based mental health professionals, teachers, and school administrators."--David N. Miller, PhD, Division of School Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York; President, American Association of Suicidology

"DBT STEPS-A offers school administrators and school-based mental health professionals a skills-based emotion regulation curriculum for students in general education and/or alternative school-based settings. The structured lesson plans and student worksheets facilitate implementation for general education teachers and school-based personnel. The curriculum is ideal for use at the levels of both prevention and intervention in the framework of a multi-tiered system of support. The book clearly spells out the theoretical basis and rationale for the approach, and shows how to teach DBT skills in a way that students and parents can understand. Schools are often at a loss for how to help students with varying levels of complex social-emotional and behavioral problems--DBT STEPS-A addresses this need.”--Ameet N. Boleigh, EdS, NCSP, school psychologist, Aiken County Public School District, South Carolina

"I have used DBT STEPS-A the last 2 years with sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. In my 36 years as an educator I have used many programs, and this one is the most comprehensive and powerful. I surveyed one of my eighth-grade classes, and 96% of the students said they would use the skills they learned. Imagine students learning that their thoughts and feelings can lie to them in a crisis situation, and gaining the skills to successfully deal with their issues. My district and others cannot afford to be without DBT STEPS-A."--Richard Jones, MEd, school counselor, Maple Grove School, Battle Ground, Washington

I. Overview of DBT STEPS-A
1. What Is DBT Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents (DBT STEPS-A)?
2. Practical Issues in Schools
3. Teaching DBT STEPS-A to Challenging Students
II. Instructor Information, Lesson Plans, and Tests
Lesson 1. Orientation
Lesson 2. Dialectics
Lesson 3. Mindfulness: Wise Mind
Lesson 4. Mindfulness: “What” Skills
Lesson 5. Mindfulness: “How” Skills
Lesson 6. Distress Tolerance: Introduction to Crisis Survival Skills, and ACCEPTS
Lesson 7. Distress Tolerance: Self-Soothe and IMPROVE the Moment
Lesson 8. Distress Tolerance: TIP Skills for Managing Extreme Emotions
Lesson 9. Distress Tolerance: Pros and Cons
Lesson 10. Distress Tolerance: Introduction to Reality Acceptance Skills, and Radical Acceptance
Lesson 11. Distress Tolerance: Turning the Mind and Willingness
Lesson 12. Distress Tolerance: Mindfulness of Current Thoughts (and Distress Tolerance Test)
Lesson 13. Core Mindfulness: Wise Mind
Lesson 14. Core Mindfulness: “What” and “How” Skills
Lesson 15. Emotion Regulation: Goals of Emotion Regulation and Functions of Emotions
Lesson 16. Emotion Regulation: Describing Emotions
Lesson 17. Emotion Regulation: Check the Facts and Opposite Action
Lesson 18. Emotion Regulation: Problem Solving
Lesson 19. Emotion Regulation: The A of ABC PLEASE
Lesson 20. Emotion Regulation: The BC PLEASE of ABC PLEASE
Lesson 21. Emotion Regulation:The Wave Skill-- Mindfulness of Current Emotion
Lesson 22. Emotion Regulation: Emotion Regulation Test
Lesson 23. Mindfulness: Wise Mind Review
Lesson 24. Mindfulness: “What” and “How” Skills Review
Lesson 25. Interpersonal Effectiveness: Goals and Overview
Lesson 26. Interpersonal Effectiveness: DEAR MAN Skills
Lesson 27. Interpersonal Effectiveness: GIVE Skills
Lesson 28. Interpersonal Effectiveness: FAST Skills
Lesson 29. Interpersonal Effectiveness: Evaluating Options for How Intensely to Ask or Say No
Lesson 30. Interpersonal Effectiveness: Interpersonal Effectiveness Test
III. Student Handouts