The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder: Using DBT to Regain Control of Your Emotions and Your Life (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) [Paperback]

Sheri Van Dijk MSW (Author), Zindel V. Segal PhD (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1572246286 | ISBN-13: 978-1572246287 | Edition: 1

Even if you've just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it's likely that you've been living with it for a long time. You've probably already developed your own ways of coping with recurring depression, the consequences of manic episodes, and the constant, uncomfortable feeling that you're at the mercy of your emotions. Some of these methods may work; others might do more harm than good. The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder will help you integrate your coping skills with a new and effective dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) plan for living well with bipolar disorder.

The four DBT skills you'll learn in this workbook-mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness-will help you manage your emotional ups and downs and minimize the frequency and intensity of depressive and manic episodes. By using this book in conjunction with medication and professional care, you'll soon experience relief from your bipolar symptoms and come to enjoy the calm and confident feeling of being in control.

• Learn mindfulness and acceptance skills
• Cope with depressive and manic episodes in healthy ways
• Manage difficult emotions and impulsive urges
• Maintain relationships with friends and family members

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Finally, a straightforward and compassionate resource for anyone wanting to understand more about bipolar disorder. The combination of personal stories and practical exercises provides a powerful guide to living a balanced and joyful life.”
—Susan Philpott, M.Sc., MSW, mental health supervisor at York Support Services Network in Sutton West, Ontario, Canada

“In this thorough and engaging workbook, Sheri Van Dijk breaks new ground by adapting dialectical behavior therapy for people living with bipolar disorder. This workbook provides patients struggling with this illness with a clear program and real-life day-to-day tools for coping. This workbook will help many people with bipolar disorder find order in their lives. A welcome addition to the helping field.”
—Paul Cappuccio, MSW, RSW, clinical manager of outpatient mental health services as Southlake Regional Health Centre and lecturer at Queens University

“Medication is the foundational treatment for bipolar disorder. However, medication use alone often results in failed relationships, financial demise, and continued symptoms of depression and anxiety. Van Dijk’s Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder can help to increase readers' personal serenity, interpersonal harmony, and intimacy in relationships, and optimize their quality of life. This book is clear, concise, and very readable, filled with wise guidelines that are rewarding and practical to implement.”
—Stephen B. Stokl, MD, FRCP, chief of psychiatry at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, and author of Mentally Speaking

From the Publisher

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder provides readers with DBT skills such as mindfulness, emotion regulation, and radical acceptance to help them move away from the destructive behaviors that often accompany bipolar disorder.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572246286
• ISBN-13: 978-1572246287
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Bipolar
  • #65 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Anxiety Disorders
  • #95 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Mood Disorders

More About the Author

Sheri Van Dijk is a psychotherapist, with a Master's Degree in Social Work; she has been working in the field of mental health since 2001. Sheri has extensive training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, and Mindfulness Practice, and uses skills from all of these areas to help people with mental health problems lead more fulfilling lives. Her fourth book, "Calming the Emotional Storm," was released in March, 2012, and Sheri is currently working on her next book which will help therapists learn how to use DBT in their own practice to help people manage their emotions more effectively. Sheri practices in Ontario, Canada. In her spare time, she loves to travel, scuba dive, play squash, and read - some of her favorite authors include Stephanie Meyer, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Kelly Armstrong, Kim Harrison, Jeffery Deaver and Jonathan Kellerman.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful tool for patients, families and clinicians November 22, 2009

By Glenys Smith Elliott

Format:Paperback

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning more about the complex challenges in the treatment of Bipolar Disorder. Van Dijk writes in plain language with descriptive headings, straightforward case study stories and includes many valuable guided exercises. She clearly breaks down dialectical behavior therapy skills as they apply to the wide range of symptoms of Bipolar Disorder.

Using a creative practical approach to mindfulness, Van Dijk gently encourages the practice of present moment awareness of symptoms, thoughts, feelings and sensations. She validates the difficulty of practicing mindfulness, along with the many life enhancing benefits that come with gaining control of your mind.

The book effectively illustrates the direct connection between judgments and emotions. It provides a simple framework to work with intense emotional experience from the triggering event right through to the action urge and aftereffects. It also provides excellent exercises to separate facts from judgments and to explore the power of language in helping foster a nonjudgmental stance.

Van Dijk takes a compassionate approach to help people struggling with Bipolar Disorder gain control of their emotions and behave in more life affirming ways. She effectively teaches how to use skills to develop insight, heal relationships and reduce impulsive behavior. The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder is a valuable tool in engendering hope for patients, families and clinicians working in this field.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A review of: The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bipolar Disorder October 26, 2009

By Ramona J. Domander

Format:Paperback

This is very user friendly workbook that is empathically written. It provides a clear explanation of the variety of symptoms experienced by people coping with bipolar disorder, or any of the broad range of symptom intensities related to this disorder. It offers a clear presentation of a very useful and practical approach, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, that fosters the development of one's best abilities to manage difficult, problematic moods, urges and behaviors.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a creative blend of cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness approaches. Mindfulness approaches develop necessary awareness, compassionate acceptance of what is, and progressive skills (including distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness skills) so that one can enjoy healthier functioning and easier achievement of one's realistic goals.

Many personal stories richly illustrate the important points being presented. There are wonderfully clear explanations on how to foster more positive and effective relationships. For family and friends wishing to helpfully assist a loved one develop maximum functioning there are highly useful guidelines. Also provided are many additional good reasouces including books, websites and organizations. The use of this workbook along with ongoing medical and professional care will help one gain progressive relief from bipolar disorder.The Bipolar Workbook for Teens: Dbt Skills to Help You Control Mood Swings (Instant Help)

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent workbook September 24, 2009

By therapist in Oakland

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

this workbook is clear, sensitive and very reasonably written. It is useful for the psychologically minded person working with a therapist, as well as for someone trying to do self help on their own. Good clear explanations of the processes and useful tools, and many worksheet type pages to copy and share. good to apply to many people with different types of emotional struggles.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great workbook March 19, 2011

By Nicole

Format:Paperback

I'm still in the process of doing this workbook, but I love it so far. Before buying this book, I had heard of DBT, but was not familiar with it. The book explains everything, and explains how each particular exercise is beneficial for bipolar disorder, so you understand why it is worth your time.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars DBT for Bipolar disorder November 23, 2010

By S. Wright

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Most DBT information out there is focused on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Anyone can benefit from DBT, but one major focus now is Bipolar Disorder. This book has tests and explanations and definitions for Bipolar. It is focused on common situations for Bipolar. It can be very hard for anyone not BPD to relate to BPD issues and this book is excellent!

Even if you are just trying to learn new skills and don't have Bipolar this book can be benefit. I especially like the section on anxiety.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not too inspiring February 3, 2012

By Ingela

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have bipolar and recently did a year and half of DBT therapy. I bought this book to help me solidify the many skills I learnt (I think it may be the only book on DBT for bipolar on the market?) but as it turns out the notes I made while in therapy are more useful and I have found this book pretty bland to read. I was disappointed to see the section on "acting opposite" was very short. I think this book probably would be ok in a setting where the book is literally being used as a workbook by a bipolar patient of a psychiatrist or psychologist who is qualified to do DBT but the way I was taught DBT was so perfectly adapted to my headspace that I think I would have found this book annoying had I used it in that context. A good therapist who is really intimate with DBT (such as I had) will not need this workbook and I really don't think DBT is something you can just learn out of a book - in therapy you will see how DBT skills can be used in your life. If one was to just use the book without therapy I suppose it would be better than nothing but I suspect one's understanding of DBT would be pretty shallow. If someone with bipolar wants to do DBT I suggest they get a good therapist who really understands DBT and check out some of the great DBT websites that are around. As a book to understand bipolar it is not terrible but there are definitely better books out there. This book is not a bad adjunct to DBT skills for bipolar patients but it is not quite good enough (in my opinion) to be the central platform upon which DBT is learned.