The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Depression: Essential DBT Practices to Manage Intense Emotions, Cultivate Self-Compassion, and Find Hope

by Shirley Porter

Powerful and proven-effective skills to help you manage emotions, move beyond feelings of hopelessness, feel more connected, and thrive. If you have depression, you may struggle with intense and painful emotions. You might lack motivation or feel disconnected from the world around you. And you may give up hope that you’ll ever feel better. It’s important to know that you aren’t alone, and there are skills you can use to find your way out of the darkness and into the light. Grounded in evidence-based dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)—the gold standard for treating emotion dysregulation—this workbook can help you take that important first step. The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Depression offers proven-effective skills to balance your emotions, deal with distressing situations, improve your relationships, increase feelings of hope, and be more mindful and grounded. You’ll find breathing and body scanning exercises to help you anchor yourself in the moment, journaling prompts to help you explore your thoughts and feelings, and values-based activities to help you identify what truly matters to you. Depression isn’t your fault, and it doesn’t have to define you or your future. Drawing on the core skills of DBT—including mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance—this vital workbook will help you find hope, rediscover your purpose, and improve your overall well-being, one step at a time.

184 pages, Paperback

Expected publication January 2, 2026

Reviews

[Brijeet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This workbook provides an overview of some DBT skills (e.g. mindfulness) along with exercises and examples to use them to manage depression, including addressing self-criticism/judgment for being depressed, breathing exercises, identifying things that help with coping, and in general approaching depression with more self-compassion.

Overall this doesn't feel particularly different from cognitive therapy books that exist for depression. The written exercises could also feel daunting for folks who are feeling depressed, so they may work better for those with recurrent bouts of depression, to complete when they are feeling more clearheaded and then refer back to when they are struggling.

Not a bad workbook, but if you already have similar workbooks this doesn't have much new to offer.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc.

[Jenifer Freedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent! As a therapist offered an advanced copy/pre-read of this book by the publisher ... this book is a must-read! It is very user-friendly and blends evidence-based DBT tools with deep empathy, helping readers manage depression while reconnecting with their most authentic selves. Shirley Porter offers clear, practical strategies for emotional regulation, mindfulness, and distress tolerance - while gently guiding readers to reclaim the parts of themselves that have been lost to depression. A powerful, validating resource for anyone seeking not just symptom relief, but deep, sustainable healing and a renewed sense of self. This is an excellent resource for those working through depression, and the therapists helping them.

(NOTE: please be aware of false reviews offered by general public prior to the release date of this book - January, 2026.