About the Book
The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Wellness Planner is a practical tool for the emotionally sensitive person looking for an easier way to track emotions and behavior as well as monitor progress over time.
The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Wellness Planner
is a helpful tool for anyone who struggles with emotional sensitivity and/or Borderline Personality Disorder to use as you work toward creating a healthier, more meaningful life--a life worth living--by balancing acceptance and change.
In Part 1, discover the value and details of mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Next, in Part 2, take the Self-Care Assessment and then get started with the Daily Self-Care Tracker. After thirty days, take a new Self-Care Assessment to see how you've grown!
Use the Planner to consistently track and report on your journey to healing. It's a journal that helps you keep everything in one place, and keeps you focused on where you are and where you want to go. Start on any date with the monthly, weekly, and daily calendars designed to help you plan for success as you practice skills and make a commitment to daily self-care.
You can use it to:
1. track your emotions and behavior
2. monitor your progress
3. bring structure into your day
Please note: the planner is not meant as an in-depth education or training on Dialectical Behavior Therapy nor is it meant as a replacement for diary cards or other useful resources in your journey to healing. Instead, it is a supplementary tool for tracking your personal progress.
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Blaise Aguirre, MD PART 1 What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy? Mindfulness Distress Tolerance Emotion Regulation Interpersonal Effectiveness Self-Care Assessment PART 2 How to Use the Wellness Planner Daily Wellness Planner Past Year's Highlights Next Year's Plans Recommended Books and Websites About the Author
About the Author :
Therapist, Amanda L. Smith, LMSW, is founder of Hope for BPD where she provides treatment consultation for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and case management for clients around the world. She also publishes My Dialectical Life--a daily email dedicated to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills.
Her career in mental health began when she served as the executive director of the Pinellas County, Florida affiliate of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). In 2007, she founded Florida Borderline Personality Disorder Association-a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing advocacy, education, and support for persons diagnosed with BPD and their families.
Amanda received her MSW at Baylor University and is currently working as a DBT therapist.
Review :
"Some years ago, I worked with a young woman who had a hard time tracking her experience from day-to-day. She used the diary cards I gave her, but because of crisis-ridden life, she couldn't keep her diary cards together and it was hard to measure her progress week over week. She moved to trying to track her emotions and behaviors on her smartphone, but again having to scroll back and forth between the most recent week and what happened 16 weeks ago (for instance) was cumbersome. She loved to journal, so I suggested that she do that instead; however, even though this was a more productive way of monitoring, it had two drawbacks. The first was that there were days she would write an entire novel, and days that she would write a single sentence. I wished that there were a way for her to consistently be able to report on her journey to healing. She needed the benefit of a journal with all its pages in one tome, the utility of a diary card with easy prompts to focus her attention on specific target behaviors, and the practicality of a smartphone, keeping days in order without skipping tasks or days. Amanda Smith has done just that with The Dialectical Behavior Therapy(R) Wellness Planner: 365 Days of Healthy Living for Your Body, Mind, and Spirit. It is a practical tool for the emotionally sensitive person looking for an easier way to track your emotions and behavior as well as monitor progress over time. The day-to-dayness of the planner brings gentle structure that does not overwhelm with burdensome demands. At the same time, it makes the skills from dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) accessible for in-the-moment review as well allowing the user to continue to monitor their progress with self-assessment tools. This is a wonderful little planner. Individuals will find it to be an important and personal yardstick on their journey to recovery. I also imagine giving it to members of a DBT skills group as a graduation present as a practical gift and a memento, the utility of which will last a lifetime." Blaise Aguirre, M.D. Medical Director 3East DBT-Continuum McLean Hospital Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Harvard Medical School "The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Wellness Planner is a must have. If you are looking for a practical resource that structures your management of treatment, progress, and emotion regulation, you have found it. Amanda Smith provides an excellent resource with information, guidance, referral information, and daily, weekly, and monthly assessment and accountability. This unique journal is a wonderful resource with practical application. I love the focus on cogent self-assessment, strengths and gratitude and progress on goals. What a wonderful tool for daily improved health and life success. Amanda Smith hit a home run with this journal." Helen Wilson Harris, EdD, LCSW, Associate Professor, Garland School of Social Work "Amanda Smith is living proof that DBT works. Used consistently, her Dialectical Behavior Therapy Wellness Planner will prove to be a valuable tool in saving your own life." Stacy Pershall, author of Loud in the House of Myself: Memoir of a Strange Girl "Amanda Smith has developed a way for people with emotional dysregulation to track their use of dialectical behavior therapy skills, and monitor their progress in a coherent, structured way. As a supplement to DBT and diary cards, the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Wellness Planner will assist a many with their therapeutic process and recovery." Michael Roy, LCSW, founder and executive director of Clearview Women's Center for Borderline Personality Disorder "Amanda's DBT planner is a wonderful resource for those learning and practicing dialectical behavior therapy skills. I love how it reminds us each day to acknowledge the skills we are using as we build mastery. It also provides an opportunity to examine which skills we may be under and over utilizing so we can create some balance. It's colorful pages, organized layout, and gratitude sections will invite and encourage us to use it on a daily basis. This planner is replacing my diary cards!" Debbie Corso, Founder and Co-Facilitator at DBT Path, online classes for emotionally sensitive people "Like the author, I have benefited personally from DBT, and as a result, became intensively trained as a therapist. Personally and professionally, I feel that this planner can provide significant, meaningful insight for people who are healing through DBT. I really appreciate the ease with which users can review their challenges and successes over time. People may forget important moments, and the diary can be a useful reminder of how far someone has come and where they can continue to improve." Allie Boston, MSW "One of the most critical aspects of the recovery process is having a way to determine goals and monitor progress. Amanda Smith's clever book provides a framework for doing just that. First, the initial assessment shows areas for improvement. The weekly format allows for planning, tracking daily progress, and reviewing results. Then the monthly assessment helps to evaluate your progress and decide what to focus on next. This planner is a valuable road map to wellness and recovery." Carl Dunn, Mental health educator and moderator of BPDChat
