"Inside...: understand DBT and learn how to apply it; discover healthier ways to manage your emotions; enhance the quality of your relationships; explore ways to practice mindfulness; improve your ability to tolerate distress"--Page 4 of cover.

Includes index.

Introduction: About this books ; Foolish assumptions ; Icons used in this book ; Beyond the book ; Where to go from here -- part 1. The nuts and bolts of DBT: Entering the world of DBT ; Understanding dialectical behavior therapy ; Accepting multiple points of view ; Moving from impulsive to spontaneous -- part 2. Gaining understanding: Understanding your emotions ; Understanding your behaviors ; Understanding how you think ; Understanding your relationships -- part 3. Exploring DBT skills: Thinking about mindfulness ; Regulating your emotions ; Building your distress tolerance ; Increasing your interpersonal effectiveness ; Walking the middle path -- part 4. The mechanics of DBT therapy: Exploring therapy basics ; Embracing dialectics ; Structuring the environment ; The therapist consultation team ; Tracking your experience ; Gaining and keeping motivation -- part 5. Putting DBT into action for specific conditions: Building mastery for mood and personality disorders ; Taming trauma ; Tempering addictions ; Dealing with counterproductive behaviors -- part 6. The part of tens: Ten mindful practices ; Ten ways to live an antidepressant life ; Ten myths about DBT.

Keep calm, be skillful -- and take control! Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is one of the most popular and most effective treatments for mental health conditions that result from out-of-control emotions. Combining elements of Cognitive Behavior Therapy with Eastern mindfulness practice, DBT was initially used as a powerful treatment to address the suffering associated with borderline personality disorder. It has since proven to have positive effects on many other mental health conditions and is frequently found in non-clinical settings, such as schools. Whether you struggle with depression, anger, phobias, disordered eating, or want to have a better understanding of emotions and how to focus and calm your mind, DBT practice serves the needs of those facing anything from regular life challenges to severe psychological distress. Written in a no-jargon, friendly style by two of Harvard Medical School's finest, DBT For Dummies shows how DBT can teach new ways not just to reverse, but to actively take control of self-destructive behaviors and negative thought patterns, allowing you to transform a life of struggle into one full of promise and meaning. Used properly and persistently, the skills and strategies in this book will change your life: when you can better regulate emotions, interact effectively with people, deal with stressful situations, and use mindfulness on a daily basis, it's easier to appreciate what's good in yourself and the world, and then act accordingly. In reading this book, you will: Understand DBT theory; Learn more adaptive ways to control your emotions; Improve the quality of your relationships; Deal better with uncertainty. Many of life's problems are not insurmountable even if they appear to be. Life can get better, if you are willing to live it differently. Get DBT For Dummies and discover the proven methods that will let you take back control -- and build a brighter, more capable, and promising future! -- Publisher's description.