Find a Therapist Client Login
Therapist? Log in
DBT Skills · Mindfulness

Describe

When you need to step out of the spin. It’s one of the DBT mindfulness skills, and the skills picker can route a client here in the moment.

Not sure this is the right skill?

The free DBT skills picker asks what’s happening right now and routes to a skill to try.

Open the skills picker

When to reach for Describe

When you need to step out of the spin.

How to practice Describe

  1. Pretend you're describing this scene to someone who can't see it.
  2. Use only what's true: "my hands are cold. my breath is short. my eyes are wet."
  3. No interpretations. No "they shouldn't have." Just the facts of the moment.
  4. If labels sneak in — "stupid," "unfair" — drop them. Restart.
If it doesn’t help: the DBT skills picker routes next to Observe. Different skills land for different people and moments — trying the next-best fit is part of the method, not a failure.

Tracking Describe on a diary card

Whether a client used Describe — and whether it helped — is exactly what a DBT diary card captures. Recording skill use day by day is how you see, in session, whether mindfulness skills are generalizing.

Track skill use for free

Build a custom diary card that tracks the skills you’re working on, or track it digitally in Theracharts.

Build a diary cardAll DBT skills

FAQ

What is Describe in DBT?

Describe is a DBT mindfulness skill. When you need to step out of the spin.

When should I use Describe?

Reach for describe when you need to step out of the spin.

In crisis? Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, US) — free, confidential, 24/7. This page is educational and is not therapy, diagnosis, or a substitute for professional care.