Dialectical Behavioral Therapy/Distress Tolerance Skills

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Most approaches to mental health treatment focus on changing distressing events and circumstances. They have paid little attention to accepting, finding meaning for, and tolerating distress. This task has generally been tackled by religious and spiritual communities and leaders. Dialectical behavior therapy emphasizes learning to bear pain skillfully.


Distress tolerance behaviors are concerned with tolerating and surviving crises and with accepting life as it is in the moment.

Four sets of crisis survival strategies are taught:

Acceptance skills include: