Turning the Mind

When you can feel the choice point but keep going down the wrong path. 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 Turning the Mind

When you can feel the choice point but keep going down the wrong path.

How to practice Turning the Mind

Picture a fork in the road. One path: fight reality. The other: accept it.
Notice you've been on the fight path again.
Walk back to the fork. Take the acceptance path instead.
You'll come back to this fork hundreds of times. Each turn is the practice.

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

Tracking Turning the Mind on a diary card

Whether a client used Turning the Mind — 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 Turning the Mind in DBT?

Turning the Mind is a DBT distress tolerance skill. When you can feel the choice point but keep going down the wrong path.

When should I use Turning the Mind?

Reach for turning the mind when you can feel the choice point but keep going down the wrong path.

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.