MORE THAN THERAPYTHE RESOURCE LIBRARY

MODULE 24 / 24 · Life structure · 15–25 MINUTES

Building Structure // Place

Shape an available environment to support safety, attention, comfort, and choice.

Try the worksheet

Understand the skill

This DBT-informed application connects self-soothing and effective action with the spaces people actually have. A place might be a room, shared corner, shelter, bag, route, or imagined resource. Ownership and privacy cannot be assumed.

Practice step by step

  1. Choose one available space or portable setup.
  2. Notice helpful cues, barriers, sensory needs, and privacy limits.
  3. Make one feasible, consent-based adjustment.
  4. Identify an alternative location or support if the space becomes unavailable.

TRY IT · SOLO OR WITH A GROUP

A practice activity

One-square-foot redesign: sketch a small area or portable kit. Add one comforting item, one practical cue, and one privacy boundary without drawing an identifiable home layout.

Group option: Work from a fictional example for five minutes, rehearse or compare choices for five minutes, then discuss one useful adaptation. Pass, write, observe, or work alone.

Your practice worksheet

Writing is optional. Responses stay in this open tab and are not submitted or automatically saved. Closing or refreshing clears them. Avoid names or identifying details. Printing or downloading includes your words.

Use paper or discuss the prompts if you prefer.

Recovery connection

Consider recovery-supportive routes, storage boundaries, or an accessible place for support calls while respecting shared housing realities.

Facilitator notes

Include housing insecurity, institutional settings, sensory access, and shared-space consent. Do not imply that a tidy home causes recovery.

Adaptation and care: This is a DBT-informed application. Do not rearrange another person's belongings or make environmental changes that increase conflict or risk.

Between-session practice: Choose one manageable situation to try this skill. Notice the context, what you did, and what helped or needs adjusting. An attempt counts as practice even when feelings do not change.

Background and sources

DBT skills concepts originate in Marsha M. Linehan's work. These are original More Than Therapy activities, not reproductions of official worksheets or endorsed materials.

References inform the skill framework; they do not validate these particular exercises. Life-structure modules are DBT-informed applications, not additional standard DBT core modules.