Dialectical behavior therapy / DBT-A13-5
Opposite Action Readiness — Review journal
Review an attempt at opposite action readiness and choose what to keep, change, or leave aside.
10 minutes · Journal prompts · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Taylor wants to avoid a harmless routine question after assuming annoyance.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. Changing an emotional action urge depends on fit, facts, and safety.
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
With a clinician, assess whether an urge fits the facts and whether acting on it is effective before designing a small alternative.
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 makes an alternative action appropriate in this specific situation? 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 makes an alternative action appropriate in this specific situation? 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.