DBT basics
What Is a DBT Diary Card?
A DBT diary card is a short daily record that helps turn a week of experiences into something you and your therapist can look at together.
In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), a diary card is usually completed between sessions. It gives a therapist and client a shared snapshot of the week: what emotions or urges showed up, which behaviors mattered, and which skills were tried. The exact card is personal. Your program or therapist may use different categories, scales, and priorities.
A diary card is a conversation tool. It can make it easier to remember patterns and choose what to discuss in session.
What does a DBT diary card commonly track?
Many cards use a row for each day and a small number scale. A card may include:
- Emotions or emotional intensity, such as sadness, anger, fear, shame, or joy.
- Urges and target behaviors chosen with a therapist.
- DBT skills practice, often grouped around mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
- Notes or context that will help make sense of a difficult moment later.
The University of Washington’s Behavioral Research & Therapy Clinics publishes examples of diary cards and instructions; they illustrate how cards can combine daily ratings, target information, and skill-use tracking. A person should use the format their own treatment team recommends rather than copying a generic card blindly.
Why bring one to therapy?
A week can blur together. A brief daily record can help you notice what happened closer to when it happened, rather than relying only on memory at the start of a session. It also gives the session a shared starting point: which event, urge, behavior, or skill deserves attention first?
A diary card is not a scorecard and it is not proof that someone “did DBT correctly.” Blank days and hard weeks are useful information too. If completing a card feels confusing, overwhelming, or unsafe, bring that to your therapist rather than trying to solve it alone.
Paper or digital?
Paper cards work well for many people. Others prefer a digital card because their phone is already nearby, entries can be kept private, and a week can be shared as a PDF. The useful choice is the one that fits your treatment plan and makes daily completion more realistic.
DBT Diary Card: Skills Tracker is an iPhone and iPad app that lets users record diary-card information privately on-device and export a PDF they choose to share. It is a tracking tool, not therapy or crisis support.
A simple way to start
- Ask your therapist which fields belong on your card and what each scale means.
- Pick a consistent moment to complete it, even if the entry is brief.
- Record what you can without trying to reconstruct every detail.
- Bring the card to session and use it to choose one useful conversation.
Sources
- University of Washington Behavioral Research & Therapy Clinics: assessment instruments and diary cards
- University of Washington: DBT Skills Diary Card with instructions (PDF)
Important: This article is general education, not medical or mental-health advice. A DBT diary card should be tailored with a qualified clinician when you are in treatment. If you are in immediate danger or may harm yourself, call local emergency services or a crisis line right away.