Book Being Reviewed:
Linehan, M. M. (1993). Skills training manual for treating borderline personality disorder. New York, NY: Guilford.

Reviewer:
Kathleen Fallon

Curricular Areas:
Helping Relationships/Counseling Theory

Subject Headings:
Personality disorders

Review:
In the Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder, Marsha Linehan provides the reader with a comprehensive guide for navigating Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills groups. This workbook outlines a myriad of proven techniques to minimize the emotional disregulation characteristic of individuals who suffer from symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder. This manual highlights four main areas: core mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance. Linehan divides each psychosocial skill into useful steps for skill development. Worksheets provided within each skill group enhance the ability of the individual to master each skill. Practitioners and consumers of this therapeutic approach are given the opportunity to enhance their understanding of these techniques outside of the group by utilizing each technique in a natural setting. Clients can utilize the skills presented in this manual long after their Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills groups have commenced and do not require the facilitation of a practitioner.

Linehan’s work is set apart from similar publications because she is the seminal force behind Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Although more recent works regarding Dialectical Behavior Therapy have been published, all of them draw from the empirically proven techniques developed by Linehan. I found the skills in this manual to be applicable to individuals experiencing symptoms other than those characteristics of Borderline Personality Disorder. Symptoms such as impulsivity and difficulty controlling anger can be minimized by the skills outlined in this workbook. These symptoms are not uncommon in counseling settings that serve adolescents. These skills also target and reduce the self-destructive behaviors that are often seen in school counseling settings, and thus can effectively be utilized by adolescents in addition to adults. Linehan discusses skills such as completing a chain analysis of behavior when having difficulty identifying problem behaviors, as well as engaging in mindfulness exercises when emotions become difficult to regulate. I anticipate that the skills outlined in this manual will become invaluable resources to me in my career, and I recommend this book to anyone entering the field of counseling.

Originally posted on 2/11/2011 at csi-net.org