Pros and Cons

When you're trying to decide whether to act on an impulse. It’s one of the DBT distress tolerance 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 Pros and Cons

When you're trying to decide whether to act on an impulse.

How to practice Pros and Cons

Draw four boxes: pros of acting on the urge / cons of acting / pros of not acting / cons of not acting.
Fill them out, especially the pros of NOT acting (often blank when hijacked).
Look at all four boxes together. Which row is heavier?
Decide from the bigger picture. Bookmark the page for next time.

If it doesn’t help: the DBT skills picker routes next to Walking the Middle Path. Different skills land for different people and moments — trying the next-best fit is part of the method, not a failure.

Tracking Pros and Cons on a diary card

Whether a client used Pros and Cons — 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 distress tolerance 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 card All DBT skills

FAQ

What is Pros and Cons in DBT?

Pros and Cons is a DBT distress tolerance skill. When you're trying to decide whether to act on an impulse.

When should I use Pros and Cons?

Reach for pros and cons when you're trying to decide whether to act on an impulse.

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.