Accumulating positive emotions means seeking out positive emotions in one’s life through positive experiences. Building mastery involves engaging in activities that boost feelings of competence, whereas coping ahead means anticipating distressing situations and rehearsing plans to cope skillfully. These concepts are part of the emotion regulation skill called ABC in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
The ABC DBT Skills Worksheet includes a set of questions and prompts for each ABC skill. For “Accumulating positive emotions,” clients will be asked to write down short-term and long-term goals they can work on, and steps to achieve these goals. “Building mastery” encourages individuals to write down a hobby or a challenging skill they can master for the week, “Coping ahead” prompts clients to think of coping skills they can use for an upcoming stressful situation, and rehearse it ahead of time.
Engaging in this worksheet increases positive emotions, which improves quality of life. A helpful tip for kids and teens is to practice relaxation skills, such as deep breathing and visualization after using this worksheet to help them prepare for a challenging future scenario. This worksheet pairs nicely with our ABC PLEASE DBT handout.
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References:
- Ching, W. Y. (2023). Effects of DBT emotional regulation skills training program on depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and emotion regulation skills among Malaysian youth (Doctoral dissertation, UTAR)
- Rombaoa, J. P., Heshmati, S., Rodriguez, M., & Owen, T. (2023). Prioritizing lifestyle factors for effective emotion regulation: A daily study on first-year college students’ well-being during COVID-19.
