Dialectical behavior therapy / DBT-A12-5
Checking the Facts Gently — Review journal
Review an attempt at checking the facts gently and choose what to keep, change, or leave aside.
10 minutes · Journal prompts · 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.
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
Separate known facts, assumptions, missing information, and contextual risks before deciding on a response.
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 can be checked, and what uncertainty must remain? 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 can be checked, and what uncertainty must remain? 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.