DBT House / DBH-A16-2
The Garden of Pleasant Moments — Practice worksheet
Plant several small, accessible activity ideas and choose one to try without promising enjoyment.
15 minutes · Worksheet · Adults; supported use as appropriate
Fictional example: Riley considers a favorite song, a drawing, or a brief conversation.
Use an ordinary or fictional example, with a clinician when appropriate. A garden can represent chosen experiences that may add meaning or pleasure.
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
Plant several small, accessible activity ideas and choose one to try without promising enjoyment.
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 would make this experiment gentle enough to try? 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 would make this experiment gentle enough to try?
- 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.