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From DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition  by Marsha M. Linehan. Copyright 2015 by Marsha M. Linehan. Permis -
sion to photocopy this worksheet is granted to purchasers of this book for personal use only (see copyright page for details). Purchasers may 
download a larger version of this worksheet from www.guilford.com/dbt-  
worksheets .distress tolerance WorksHeet 14   (Distress Tolerance Handout 17) (p. 1 of 3)
planning for Dialectical a bstinence
Due Date:       Name:                   Week Starting:  
Problem Behavior:  
Check each activity and describe what you did.
plan for aBST inence
To maximize the chances I’ll stop  , I need to aim for abstinence.
Plan activities to do instead of problem behaviors (e.g., work, find a hobby, go to a support 
meeting, volunteer). These will include:
  
  
Spend time or touch base with people who will reinforce my not  engaging in problem behaviors 
and my engaging in effective behaviors (e.g., effective friends or family members, co-  workers, 
employers, my therapist, people from group). These people include:
  
  
Remind myself of reasons to stay abstinent and be effective (e.g., to reach long-term goals, to 
keep/get relationship, to save money, to avoid shame). These include:
  
  
  
Burn bridges with people who represent a temptation (e.g., lose their numbers, unfriend them, tell them to stop contacting me, make them not want to hang out with me). These people include: