Dialectical behavior therapy / DBT-A06-3
Pause before Acting — Clinician dialogue
Guide a collaborative conversation about pause before acting while checking fit and participant choice.
15 minutes · Clinician script · Mental health professionals
Fictional example: Taylor receives an irritating email and waits before replying.
Use within your training and assessment of readiness. A pause can create space for choosing a safer response.
Invite and obtain permission
Offer: "Would it be useful to explore pause before acting using an ordinary or fictional example? We can adapt it, observe, or stop." Ask what the person wants from the conversation.
Elicit before teaching
Ask: "How does this show up, if at all, in your own words?" Offer this idea tentatively: A pause can create space for choosing a safer response. Ask what fits and what does not.
Guide the task
Rehearse stopping, stepping back in an accessible way, observing, and choosing the next effective action in a low-stakes example. Ask for permission before giving an example. Use this fictional illustration if useful: Taylor receives an irritating email and waits before replying.
Reflect and check accuracy
Reflect only what was offered: "I heard you describe ___. What did I miss?" Ask: What would help you pause without making the situation less safe? Avoid assigning motives or interpreting silence as agreement.
Respond to a mismatch
If the person rejects the frame, say: "Thank you for correcting it. What would be more useful?" Return to their language or choose a different approach.
Close with agency
Ask which observation, question, or support request the person wants to keep. Confirm a manageable ending and appropriate follow-up; do not turn a tentative possibility into a homework obligation.
Prompts for this resource
- Readiness, permission, cultural context, and access needs to check:
- What would help you pause without making the situation less safe?
- What would tell me to adapt, stop, or seek supervision?
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.