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From DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition  by Marsha M. Linehan. Copyright 2015 by Marsha M. Linehan. Permission 
to photocopy this handout is granted to purchasers of this book for personal use only (see copyright page for details).interpersonal effectiveness Handout 21   (I. E. Worksheet 15)
Strategies for Decreasing or Stopping 
unwanted  Behaviors
extinction = Stopping an ongoing reinforcement of behavior.
Extinction leads first to a burst of behavior, and then to a decrease in behavior.
Examples:                                         
Satiation = p roviding relief or what is wanted before  the behavior occurs.
Satiation reduces motivation for behavior and thus decreases its frequency.Examples:                                         
punishment = an aversive consequence that decreases a behavior.
Behavior is decreased by consequences the person dislikes or will work to avoid.
Examples:                                         
Behavior is decreased by consequences that stop or reduce something positive.Examples:                                         
Behavior is decreased when something the person wants is withheld until harmful effects of 
problem behaviors are corrected and overcorrected.
Examples:                                         
••Be sure that punishment is specific, is time-  limited, and fits the “crime.”
••Avoid a punitive tone; let the consequence do the work.
••If a natural punishment occurs, don’t undo it. Don’t add arbitrary punishment.
Be sure to reinforce alternative behavior to replace behavior you want stopped.
••Extinction and punishment weaken or suppress behavior, but do not eliminate it.
••Extinction and punishment do not teach new behavior.
••To keep a behavior from resurfacing, reinforce an alternative behavior.
••Punishment works only when the punisher is (or is likely to be) present.
••Punishment leads to avoidance of the person punishing.