Dialectical behavior therapy / DBT-A07-2
Short-Term Distress Menu — Practice worksheet
Build a menu of accessible distraction, soothing, and support options with a clear time to reassess.
15 minutes · Worksheet · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Taylor chooses quiet music while waiting for an uncertain result.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Short-term coping aims to get through a moment without adding avoidable harm.
1. Choose a workable example
Use the fictional example below or an ordinary situation of your choosing. Keep identifying details out of shared copies.
2. Try the practice
Build a menu of accessible distraction, soothing, and support options with a clear time to reassess.
3. Compare possibilities
Generate at least two interpretations or options. Mark what you know, what you are guessing, and what remains outside your control.
4. Decide together
Which option fits this moment, and when will you reassess? Choose one small action, a support request, or no action. Review the fit with your clinician when relevant.
Prompts for this resource
- My chosen or fictional situation, and what I know about it:
- My response to the practice task above:
- Which option fits this moment, and when will you reassess?
- An optional next step, support, adaptation, or reason to stop:
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.