The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Anxiety: Breaking Free from Worry, Panic, PTSD, and Other Anxiety Symptoms

by Alexander L. Chapman PhD, RPsych, Kim L. Gratz PhD, Matthew T. Tull PhD, Terence Keane PhD (Foreword by)

Overview

If you have an anxiety disorder or experience anxiety symptoms that interfere with your day-to-day life, you can benefit from learning four simple skills that therapists use with their clients. These easy-to-learn skills are at the heart of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a cutting-edge therapeutic approach that can help you better manage the panic attacks, worries, and fears that limit your life and keep you feeling stuck.

This book will help you learn these four powerful skills:

• Mindfulness helps you connect with the present moment and notice passing thoughts and feelings without being ruled by them.
• Acceptance skills foster self-compassion and a nonjudgmental stance toward your emotions and worries.
• Interpersonal effectiveness skills help you assert your needs in order to build more fulfilling relationships with others.
• Emotion regulation skills help you manage anxiety and fear before they get out of control.

In The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Anxiety, you’ll learn how to use each of these skills to manage your anxiety, worry, and stress. By combining simple, straightforward instruction in the use of these skills with a variety of practical exercises, this workbook will help you overcome your anxiety and move forward in your life.

This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit — an award bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781572249547
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	11/03/2011
Series:	Unassigned Series
Edition description:	Workbook
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Alexander L. Chapman, PhD, RPsych, is professor, director of clinical training, and coordinator of the clinical science area in the psychology department at Simon Fraser University in Canada, as well as a registered psychologist and president of the DBT Centre of Vancouver. Chapman directs the Personality and Emotion Research Lab, where he studies the role of emotion regulation in borderline personality disorder (BPD), self-harm, impulsivity, as well as other related issues. His research has been funded by major grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Chapman has received the Young Investigator’s Award from the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder (NEABPD), the Canadian Psychological Association’s Scientist Practitioner Early Career Award, and a Career Investigator award from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

Chapman has coauthored twelve books for consumers and clinicians. Board certified in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) (Canadian Association for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) (DBT-Linehan Board of Certification), Chapman cofounded a psychology practice focused on DBT, and regularly gives workshops and presentations to clinicians and community groups both nationally and internationally. He also has been practicing martial arts and mindfulness meditation for many years, and enjoys cooking, reading, outdoor activities, and spending time with his family.

Kim L. Gratz, PhD, is a senior clinical quality manager and clinical lead of the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) program at Lyra Health. She also holds an appointment in the department of psychology at the University of Toledo, where she previously served as professor and chair. She has received multiple awards for her research on emotion regulation, personality disorders, and self-injury; and has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and eight books on borderline personality disorder (BPD), self-injury, and DBT.

Matthew T. Tull, PhD, is a clinical quality supervisor at Lyra Health, and also holds an appointment in the department of psychology at the University of Toledo. Tull’s research and clinical work emphasize the role of emotion regulation in anxiety disorders; trauma and stressor-related disorders; and high-risk behaviors such as substance use, self-injury, and suicide. His work has been recognized through awards from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.


Dr. Keane is Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development at the Boston VA, Director of the Behavioral Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD at the Boston VA, and President of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

Editorial Reviews

Increasingly, research is showing that dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) can be a useful treatment for a range of mental health problems. In The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Anxiety, Chapman, Gratz and Tull strip away the jargon and walk the reader step-by-step through this treatment, showing the reader how to apply DBT skills to anxiety. This workbook will provide many anxiety sufferers with much-needed relief.”
—David F. Tolin, PhD, ABPP, director of the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Institute of Living and author of Face Your Fears

“I strongly recommend this self-help book for people suffering from various forms of anxiety. These authors effectively describe in lay terms how mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness skills augment the more traditional applications of cognitive behavioral therapy strategies in the treatment of anxiety. In this book, the reader will find clinical vignettes, diagrams, and useful worksheets in this book that enhance the process of learning of these DBT tools.”
—Alec L. Miller, PsyD, professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY

“Symptoms of anxiety, worry, and panic are integral to the emotional disorders and respond to a core set of psychological interventions. In this outstanding workbook, the authors pull together some of the most creative and scientifically-proven procedures for managing out-of-control emotions, including anxiety. These dialectical behavior therapy skills should benefit everyone suffering the ravages of anxiety disorders.”
—David Barlow, PhD, professor of psychology and psychiatry and founder and director emeritus of the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University

“A clear, practical guide that combines evidence-based approaches with rich clinical wisdom. Filled with innovative and practical advice as well as lively metaphors and engaging case examples, this book is sure to help readers struggling with anxiety find a balance between acceptance and change. I highly recommend this book and these authors.”
—Lizabeth Roemer, PhD, coauthor of The Mindful Way Through Anxiety

“For many, the struggle to control anxiety can be an exhausting, consuming, and seemingly endless challenge. Fortunately, The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Anxiety offers a number of well researched, easy to implement strategies that can help readers to better understand, accept, and manage their anxiety, improve their relationships, and engage more fully in their lives.“
—Susan M. Orsillo, PhD, psychology professor at Suffolk University

“This is an excellent application of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills for people struggling with anxiety, panic attacks, and related problems. Not only will readers gain a better understanding of what these problems are, they’ll also learn some very practical and effective skills to cope with them. Many thanks to the authors for bringing the success of DBT to people suffering with anxiety.”
—John Forsyth, PhD, director of the Anxiety Disorders Research Program at the University at Albany, SUNY and author of The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety

“To be relieved of anxiety is often a person’s highest priority for therapy. This book allows access to the powerful DBT methods that that can provide that relief. It is not always possible to join a DBT skills training group, but it is possible to understand and use Marsha Linehan’s transformative work by reading this practical interpretation.”
—Kate Northcott, MA, MFT, DBT therapist in private practice with Mindfulness Therapy Associates and director of New Perspectives Center for Counseling in San Francisco, CA

“Alexander Chapman and his colleagues have provided a much-needed, thorough resource in The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Anxiety. Offering DBT skills and emphasizing mindfulness practice, this book provides helpful information and practical worksheets, and will be a valuable tool for both people experiencing anxiety and the clinicians treating them.”
—Sheri Van Dijk, MSW, RSW, psychotherapist in Ontario, Canada, and author of The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder

From the Publisher