The Skillful Podcast

Do you find asking for things or saying no hard? If so, this episode is for you.

Marielle and Ed provide a framework for thinking about how strongly to make requests and how strongly to say no. For some people, making requests confidently is challenging and for others, it's saying no that is hard.

Sometimes it depends on the type of relationship. Perhaps you're comfortable saying no with friends but not with family, or you can easily make requests at work but not of your significant other.

Whatever your exact challenges with saying no or asking for things are, this episode will help you weigh different factors so you can communicate your wants and needs with confidence.

For more information, including the full show notes, visit our website: https://bayareadbtcc.com/podcast/

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.

Today's episode is a response to a listener question about procrastinating making progress towards life goals. Marielle and Ed explore the emotions that underlie urges to put off doing what needs to get done. For some people, procrastination is a habitual response, no matter what the task. For other people, procrastination is a response to specific unpleasant tasks. Either way, procrastination often leads to feelings of shame and low self-worth.

Procrastination also can create secondary problems, meaning that not taking care of a task or problem often leads to new problems. Marielle and Ed discuss skills to help you change this common and challenging cycle.

Opposite Action

Check the Facts

Mindfulness of Current Thoughts

Self-soothing

Build Mastery

Radical Acceptance

For full show notes, visit our website.

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.

Today, Marielle interviews Greg Bodin, MFT, a therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area who practices Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT. Greg specializes in anxiety, trauma, men's sex issues, and is also a certified EMDR therapist.

ACT and DBT have a lot in common. One of the core tenets of ACT is learning to accept where your life is right now and committing to making changes so that your life reflects what matters to you. It's both a therapy approach and a way of understanding how humans behave, how they get stuck, and how to get unstuck.

For more, including full show notes, visit our website.

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.

Today, Marielle and Ed discuss the D in DBT: Dialectics. Dialectics helps us remember that two seemingly opposing forces can both be true, change is the only constant, and that we are all connected.

When emotions are heightened, either/or thinking can get us stuck and limit our ability to think and creatively problem solve. Dialectics encourages us to move away from either/or thinking and towards both/and thinking. For example, you can love someone and be very upset with them. You can want to work hard and also want to take breaks. You can be serious and silly.

Dialectics also reminds us that change is happening all the time and that we can learn to work with change in ourselves and others rather than fighting against it.

For full show notes, visit our website.

Nonjudgmentalness

Radical Acceptance

Opposite Action

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.

This episode is in response to a listener question about combining DBT skill use for difficult situations. We thought it was a great question to tackle in an episode.

As your knowledge of DBT skills increases, you will likely find that using several different skills is often the most effective way to respond to challenging life situations. Another way of thinking about this is layering skills - using skills to reduce distress first and then using skills to solve problems or change situations. Marielle and Ed discuss the following scenarios where layered skill use can be helpful:

You're in an intense conflict with someone important to you.

You've experienced loss and sadness is overtaking you.

You have a strong desire to avoid doing something that needs to get done.

STOP

TIP

Distraction

Radical Acceptance

Check the Facts

Opposite Action

For more information including full show notes, visit our website: https://bayareadbtcc.com/podcast/

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.

In this episode of The Skillful Podcast, we answer two listener questions. The first question is from a listener who wants advice about balancing conflicting values to build a life worth living. The second question is about how to maintain your DBT skills practice once treatment has ended. Marielle and Ed discuss the issues these questions bring up and offer creative ways to think about the dilemmas presented.

• Accumulating Positive Emotions in the Long-Term
• Cope Ahead

For more information including full show notes, visit our website: https://bayareadbtcc.com/podcast/

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.

As we pass the year mark of pandemic life, many of us are exhausted and eager to get back to how things used to be. While there are positive developments with vaccination rates rising and case counts lowering in some parts of the world, the finish line is still far away. We need emotional stamina to stay the course and tolerate the limits on daily life that the pandemic imposes. In this episode, Marielle and Ed discuss lots of DBT skills that can help you do this.

DBT Skills Discussed:

• Validation
• Mindfulness of Current Thoughts
• Mindfulness of Current Emotions
• Radical Acceptance
• Check the Facts
• Opposite Action
• Problem Solving
• Accumulating Positive Emotions

To learn more about this podcast and get full show notes, go to www.bayareadbtcc.com

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.

As we close out the year, new skills may be needed to help you get through a holiday season that's unlike any other. Marielle and Ed discuss skills to help you cope and cultivate moments of joy.

Isolation, a constant for many people these days, might be intensified during the holidays. Not being able to be around friends and family for the holidays is painful but for others, it may feel like a relief.

Naming and making space for uncomfortable emotions like sadness, loss, fear, and frustration is important. Mindfulness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance skills can help you move through some of these emotions.

To learn more about this podcast and get full show notes, go to www.bayareadbtcc.com

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.

Today's episode explores ten common interpersonal myths. These myths can prevent us from being as effective in relationships as we like.

Some of these myths are about how we "should" be or how others "should" be. Some of these myths are about conflict, or about whether it's ok to assert our need or say no.

Often we learn these myths from our families when we are young, and it's helpful to recognize and name them so they don't dictate what we do in relationships.

In this episode, we unpack each myth: where they come from, and ways to challenge them so you can improve your interpersonal skills.

To learn more about this podcast and get full show notes, go to www.bayareadbtcc.com

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.

This is a special episode geared towards our listeners in the United States. We have a big election approaching and if you struggle with your emotions, you may be more impacted by the uncertainty, polarization, and chaos in our country.

Compounding the political uncertainty are environmental threats like wildfires and hurricanes. On top of all this, we are still in a pandemic! No wonder Wise Mind may be harder to find. Marielle and Ed discuss DBT skills to help you stay as grounded and effective in your life as possible this election season.

To learn more about this podcast and get full show notes, go to www.bayareadbtcc.com

We'd love to hear from you! Where are you getting stuck with your skills application? Ask us a question for the chance to have it answered on the podcast. Submit your question here.

Please note that questions, and this podcast in general, are not a substitute for individual mental health treatment.