Recommended Reading

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Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder-1st Edition

by Marsha M. Linehan PhD ABPP

For the average clinician, individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) often represent the most challenging, seemingly insoluble cases. This volume is the authoritative presentation of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), Marsha M. Linehan’s comprehensive, integrated approach to treating individuals with BPD. DBT was the first psychotherapy shown in controlled trials to be effective with BPD. It has since been adapted and tested for a wide range of other difficult-to-treat disorders involving emotion dysregulation. While focusing on BPD, this book is essential reading for clinicians delivering DBT to any clients with complex, multiple problems.

DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition-2nd Edition

by Marsha M. Linehan PhD ABPP

Featuring more than 225 user-friendly handouts and worksheets, this is an essential resource for clients learning dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills, and those who treat them. All of the handouts and worksheets discussed in Marsha M. Linehan’s DBT® Skills Training Manual, Second Edition, are provided, together with brief introductions to each module written expressly for clients. Originally developed to treat borderline personality disorder, DBT has been demonstrated effective in treatment of a wide range of psychological and emotional problems. No single skills training program will include all of the handouts and worksheets in this book; clients get quick, easy access to the tools recommended to meet their particular needs. The 8 1/2 x 11 format and spiral binding facilitate photocopying. Purchasers also get access to a Web page where they can download and print additional copies of the handouts and worksheets.

Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir

by Marsha M. Linehan PhD ABPP

Over the years, DBT had saved the lives of countless people fighting depression and suicidal thoughts, but Linehan had never revealed that her pioneering work was inspired by her own desperate struggles as a young woman. Only when she received this question did she finally decide to tell her story.

In this remarkable and inspiring memoir, Linehan describes how, when she was eighteen years old, she began an abrupt downward spiral from popular teenager to suicidal young woman. After several miserable years in a psychiatric institute, Linehan made a vow that if she could get out of emotional hell, she would try to find a way to help others get out of hell too, and to build a life worth living. She went on to put herself through night school and college, living at the YWCA and often scraping together spare change to buy food. She went on to get her PhD in psychology, specializing in behavior therapy. In the 1980s, she achieved a breakthrough when she developed Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, a therapeutic approach that combines acceptance of the self and ways to change. Linehan included mindfulness as a key component in therapy treatment, along with original and specific life-skill techniques. She says, “You can’t think yourself into new ways of acting; you can only act yourself into new ways of thinking.”

Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Clinical Practice: Applications across Disorders and Settings-2nd Edition

by Linda A. Dimeff PhD and Kelly Koerner PhD, with Marsha M. Linehan PhD ABPP (Foreword)

First developed to treat suicidal individuals with borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has since been adapted to a range of settings and populations. This practical book–edited by close collaborators of DBT originator Marsha M. Linehan–presents applications for depression, substance dependence, eating disorders, psychosis, suicidal and assaultive behaviors, and other complex problems. Leading contributors, including Linehan herself, describe how to implement this evidence-based treatment with adults, adolescents, couples and families, and forensic clients. Issues in establishing and maintaining an effective DBT program are also addressed. Over a dozen reproducible worksheets and forms can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2 x 11 size.

This influential work has now been substantially revised with over 60% new material reflecting over a dozen years of research and clinical advances. Leading experts describe innovative ways to use dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in a wide range of real-world clinical and community settings. The volume provides wise guidance on setting up, running, and evaluating a comprehensive DBT program. It also presents adaptations designed to meet the needs of particular client populations as time- and cost-effectively as possible. Vivid case examples illustrate diverse applications of DBT for helping adults, adolescents, and children reduce suicidal and self-harming behavior; overcome complex, multiple challenges; and build a life worth living.

Doing Dialectical Behavior Therapy: A Practical Guide

by Kelly Koerner and Marsha M. Linehan PhD ABPP (Foreword)

Filled with vivid clinical vignettes and step-by-step descriptions, this book demonstrates the nuts and bolts of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). DBT is expressly designed for–and shown to be effective with–clients with serious, multiple problems and a history of treatment failure. The book provides an accessible introduction to DBT while enabling therapists of any orientation to integrate elements of this evidence-based approach into their work with emotionally dysregulated clients. Experienced DBT clinician and trainer Kelly Koerner clearly explains how to formulate individual cases; prioritize treatment goals; and implement a skillfully orchestrated blend of behavioral change strategies, validation strategies, and dialectical strategies.

DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents

By Jill H. Rathus Phd, Alec L. Miller PsyD, and Marsha M. Linehan PhD ABPP (Foreword)

From leading experts who have trained thousands of professionals in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), this manual provides indispensable tools for treating adolescents with emotional or behavioral problems of any level of severity. Clinicians are guided step by step to teach teens and parents five sets of skills: Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Walking the Middle Path (a family-based module developed by the authors specifically for teens), Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Designed for optimal clinical utility, the book features session outlines, teaching notes, discussion points, examples, homework assignments, and 85 reproducible handouts, in a large-size format for easy photocopying. Purchasers also get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.

DBT Principles in Action: Acceptance, Change, and Dialectics

by Charles R. Swenson MD with Marsha M. Linehan PhD ABPP (Foreword)

The key to flexible, skillful decision making in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) lies in understanding the connections between moment-to-moment clinical strategies and core principles. This lucid guide from leading DBT authority Charles R. Swenson offers clinicians a compass for navigating challenging clinical situations and moving therapy forward–even when change seems impossible. Numerous vivid case examples illustrate DBT in action and show how to use skills and strategies that flow directly from the fundamental paradigms of acceptance, change, and dialectics. Clinicians gain knowledge and confidence for meeting the complex needs of each client while implementing DBT with fidelity.

The Mindfulness Solution for Intense Emotions: Take Control of Borderline Personality Disorder with DBT

by Cedar R. Koons MSW LCSW with Marsha M. Linehan PhD ABPP (Foreword)

The Mindfulness Solution for Intense Emotions offers breakthrough, new mindfulness skills and exercises drawn from dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help you move past harmful emotions.

If you suffer from intense emotions, you are not alone. Millions of Americans are diagnosed with emotion regulation disorders, such as borderline personality disorder (BPD) and other comorbid conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and severe depression. Developed by Marsha Linehan, DBT is a clinically proven, evidence-based treatment for intense emotions that can help you start feeling better right away. This is the first consumer-friendly book to offer Linehan’s new mindfulness skills to help you take control of your emotions, once and for all.

In this book, you’ll learn seven powerful skills that highlight the unique connection between mindfulness and emotion regulation. Each skill is designed to help you find focus in the present moment, reduce impulsive behavior, and increase a sense of connection to your true self, even during times of extreme stress or difficulty.

You can feel calmer, more grounded, and centered. If you’re ready, the mindfulness practices in this book will help you move away from a chaotic, emotion-driven life and cultivate a focused, intentional one.

The High-Conflict Couple: A Dialectical Behavior Therapy Guide to Finding Peace, Intimacy, and Validation

by Alan E. Fruzzetti with Marsha M. Linehan PhD ABPP (Foreword)

You hear and read a lot about ways to improve your relationship. But if you’ve tried these without much success, you’re not alone. Many highly reactive couples—pairs that are quick to argue, anger, and blame—need more than just the run-of-the-mill relationship advice to solve their problems in love. When destructive emotions are at the heart of problems in your relationship, no amount of effective communication or intimacy building will fix what ails it. If you’re part of a “high-conflict” couple, you need to get control of your emotions first, to stop making things worse, and only then work on building a better relationship.

The High-Conflict Couple adapts the powerful techniques of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) into skills you can use to tame out-of-control emotions that flare up in your relationship. Using mindfulness and distress tolerance techniques, you’ll learn how to de-escalate angry situations before they have a chance to explode into destructive fights. Other approaches will help you disclose your fears, longings, and other vulnerabilities to your partner and validate his or her experiences in return. You’ll discover ways to manage problems with negotiation, not conflict, and to find true acceptance and closeness with the person you love the most.

Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder: Relieve Your Suffering Using the Core Skill of Dialectical Behavior Therapy

by Blaise Aguirre MD and Gillian Galen PsyD

If you are like many others living with borderline personality disorder (BPD), you know what it’s like to be overwhelmed by intense and fluctuating emotions; to have difficulty with relationships; and to constantly struggle with troubling thoughts and behaviors. BPD can be especially difficult to treat, though there are ways to gain control over your symptoms and live a happier, healthier life.

Expanding on the core skill of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder will help you target and successfully manage many of the familiar symptoms of BPD. Inside, you will learn the basics of mindfulness through specific exercises, and will gain powerful insight through real-life stories from people who have BPD. If you are ready to take that first step on the path toward wellness, this book will be your guide.

Overcoming Borderline Personality Disorder: A Family Guide for Healing and Change

by Valerie Porr

Overcoming Borderline Personality Disorder is a compassionate and informative guide to understanding this profoundly unsettling–and widely misunderstood–mental illness, believed to affect approximately 6% of the general population. Rather than viewing people with BPD as manipulative opponents in a bitter struggle, or pitying them as emotional invalids, Valerie Porr cites cutting-edge science to show that BPD is a true neurobiological disorder and not, as many come to believe, a character flaw or the result of bad parenting. Porr then clearly and accessibly explains what BPD is, which therapies have proven effective, and how to rise above the weighty stigma associated with the disorder. Offering families and loved ones supportive guidance that both acknowledges the difficulties they face and shows how they can be overcome, Porr teaches empirically-supported and effective coping behaviors and interpersonal skills, such as new ways of talking about emotions, how to be aware of nonverbal communication, and validating difficult experiences. These skills are derived from Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Mentalization-based Therapy, two evidence-based treatments that have proven highly successful in reducing family conflict while increasing trust. Overcoming Borderline Personality Disorder is an empowering and hopeful resource for those who wish to gain better understanding of the BPD experience–and to make use of these insights in day-to-day family interactions.

Parenting a Teen Who Has Intense Emotions: DBT Skills to Help Your Teen Navigate Emotional and Behavioral Challenges

by Pat Harvey and Britt H. Rathbone

Parenting a teen with intense emotions can be extremely difficult. This much-needed book will give you the tools needed to help your teen regulate his or her emotions. In addition, you’ll learn the skills for managing your own reactions so you can survive these difficult years and help your teen thrive.

The teen years can be daunting for any parent. But if you are the parent of a teen who lashes out or engages in troubling behavior, you may be unsure of how to respond to your child in a compassionate, constructive way. In this important book, two renowned experts in teen mental health offer you evidence-based skills for dealing with your teen’s out-of-control emotions using proven-effective dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT). 

Helping your teen to effectively deal with their feelings now can have a lasting, positive impact on their future. After all, honing skills for emotion regulation will act as a foundation for your teen’s overall mental health. This book will help your teen gain awareness of their emotions, and offers tools to help them choose how to respond to these emotions in effective ways.