Dialectical behavior therapy / DBT-A04-5
Describe without Judgment — Review journal
Review an attempt at describe without judgment and choose what to keep, change, or leave aside.
10 minutes · Journal prompts · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Taylor changes a self-insult into a description of missing one deadline.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Description can separate events from global evaluations.
Before looking back
Choose one ordinary attempt or decide to review the fictional example instead. This journal has no scores, required disclosure, or expectation of progress.
Revisit the practice
Translate three judgmental labels into specific observations while retaining valid concerns about injustice.
Notice context and impact
Record what actually happened, including an unhelpful or neutral outcome. Note resources, power differences, accessibility, and changed conditions rather than attributing everything to personal effort.
Choose a revision
What information becomes clearer when the label is removed? Keep the approach, change one part, ask for support, or set it aside. A mismatch is useful information.
Prompts for this resource
- What I tried, or what happened in the fictional example:
- What I noticed before, during, and after; what remains uncertain:
- What helped, did not help, or was outside my control:
- What information becomes clearer when the label is removed? My optional adjustment or support request:
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.