Dialectical behavior therapy / DBT-A02-1
Wise Mind Pause — Concept brief
Understand the idea behind wise mind pause and consider whether it fits your context.
8 minutes · Handout · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Taylor wants to send a sharp message and also wants to preserve a working relationship.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Emotion and reason can both contribute to a considered response.
The idea
Emotion and reason can both contribute to a considered response.
An ordinary example
Taylor wants to send a sharp message and also wants to preserve a working relationship.
What this can look like
List emotional information, practical facts, and a response that takes both seriously.
Check the fit
What response respects the feeling and the longer-term aim? You may disagree with the framing, use fiction, or decide that this approach is not useful today.
A useful distinction
Acceptance acknowledges the present; it does not endorse harm or remove the need for change.
Prompts for this resource
- What part of this idea makes sense to me?
- What response respects the feeling and the longer-term aim?
Conceptual background
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training: Fundamentals — Behavioral Tech Institute
Background on the approach only. Original exercises and wording are by More Than Therapy with AI assistance; the source does not validate or endorse these materials.