Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills for PTSD : Practical Exercises for Overcoming Trauma & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

This pragmatic workbook offers evidence-based skills grounded in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help you find lasting relief from trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

If you’ve experienced trauma, you should know that there is nothing wrong with you. Trauma is a normal reaction to an abnormal event. Sometimes, the symptoms of trauma persist long after the traumatic situation has ceased. This is what we call PTSD—in other words, the “trauma after the trauma.” This happens when the aftereffects of trauma—such anxiety, depression, anger, fear, insomnia, and even addiction—end up causing more ongoing harm than the trauma itself. So, how can you start healing?

With this powerful and proven-effective workbook, you’ll find practical exercises for overcoming trauma using mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance. You’ll learn how to be present in the moment and identity the things that trigger your trauma. You’ll also find activities and exercises to help you cope with stress, manage intense emotions, navigate conflict with others, and change unhealthy thought patterns that keep you stuck. Finally, you’ll find practical materials for review and closure, so you can take what you’ve learned out into the world with you.

If you’re ready to move past your trauma and start living your life again, this workbook will help guide you, one step at a time. The practical interventions in this guide can be used on their own or in conjunction with therapy.

Kirby Reutter, PhD, is a bilingual licensed psychologist, licensed mental health counselor, and internationally certified substance abuse counselor. Reutter has widely presented his unique approaches to psychotherapy throughout the nation, including one TEDx talk and three trainings for the US military. In addition, Reutter has conducted international research on spiritual coping, the results of which have been published by three different sources and personally presented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2015. Reutter was named a New England Scholar in 2002, as well as Northcentral University’s Alumni of the Year in 2018 for his work with trauma treatment, including survivors of human trafficking. Reutter currently contracts with the US Department of Homeland Security.

Foreword writer Dawn DePasquale, LMHC, is a national speaker, trainer, and media presence for mental health issues. She is also founder, CEO, and clinical director of Bell Mental Health Associates, LLC. She spends her free time writing and illustrating her first two therapeutic children’s book series, The Ninja Therapist and The Dragon Worriers, and writes for the SouthCoast Media Group’s online advice blog, “Ask Dawn.”