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DBT Skills · Emotion Regulation

Mindfulness of Current Emotion

When you're either suppressing it or amplifying it. It’s one of the DBT emotion regulation 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.

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When to reach for Mindfulness of Current Emotion

When you're either suppressing it or amplifying it.

How to practice Mindfulness of Current Emotion

  1. Notice what you're doing with the feeling: pushing it down? Working it up?
  2. Stop. Hands open. Don't suppress, don't amplify.
  3. Let the feeling be what it is. It's not asking permission.
  4. Stay until you notice it's already changing. Then stay a little longer.
If it doesn’t help: the DBT skills picker routes next to TIPP. Different skills land for different people and moments — trying the next-best fit is part of the method, not a failure.

Tracking Mindfulness of Current Emotion on a diary card

Whether a client used Mindfulness of Current Emotion — 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 emotion regulation 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.

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FAQ

What is Mindfulness of Current Emotion in DBT?

Mindfulness of Current Emotion is a DBT emotion regulation skill. When you're either suppressing it or amplifying it.

When should I use Mindfulness of Current Emotion?

Reach for mindfulness of current emotion when you're either suppressing it or amplifying it.

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.