Dialectical behavior therapy / DBT-A12-2
Checking the Facts Gently — Practice worksheet
Separate known facts, assumptions, missing information, and contextual risks before deciding on a response.
15 minutes · Worksheet · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Taylor interprets a brief reply as rejection but has limited information.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Appraisals can be examined without invalidating lived experience.
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
Separate known facts, assumptions, missing information, and contextual risks before deciding on a response.
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
What can be checked, and what uncertainty must remain? 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:
- What can be checked, and what uncertainty must remain?
- 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.