The revised Korean edition of this essential DBT resource brings together the handouts and
worksheets needed to learn and practice mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness,
emotion regulation, and distress tolerance skills.
Book Description
The Korean edition of DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents has been published by The Tree Group Press to help make evidence-based DBT resources more accessible to a broader audience.
Since the original publication of the DBT Skills Training Manual in 1993, research on the application of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to a wide range of mental disorders has expanded dramatically.
Early DBT research focused primarily on adults at high risk for suicide. Today, growing evidence supports the effectiveness of DBT skills training not only for borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, treatment-resistant depression, substance use disorders, and other serious mental health conditions, but also for adolescents experiencing suicidal crises.
DBT skills can also be helpful in everyday life. Friends and family members of individuals experiencing emotional difficulties—as well as children, adolescents, and adults across a wide range of settings—can benefit from learning and practicing DBT skills. These skills can be used in schools, clinics, hospitals, community programs, and many other institutional settings.
This Korean edition of DBT Manual provides the handouts and worksheets needed to learn and practice DBT skills. The overall goal of DBT skills training is to increase resilience and help individuals build a life worth living. DBT skills also teach people how to integrate acceptance and change: how to accept reality as it is while also changing behaviors, emotions, thoughts, and situations that contribute to suffering and emotional pain.
More specifically, these skills help individuals live more fully in the present moment while learning to change unwanted behaviors, overwhelming emotions, distressing thoughts, and painful life circumstances.
The book is organized into five major sections, each beginning with a brief introduction to the skills covered in that module. The first section presents General Skills: Orientation and Analyzing Behavior. The remaining sections cover the four primary DBT skills modules: Mindfulness Skills, Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills, Emotion Regulation Skills, and Distress Tolerance Skills.
Not every skill in this book will be needed by every reader, and some skills may be more helpful for certain individuals than for others. The skills presented in this volume have been validated through research with diverse populations, including adults, adolescents, parents, families, high-risk groups, and lower-risk populations. We sincerely hope that these skills will become practical and meaningful tools in your own life.
About the Author
Marsha M. Linehan, PhD, ABPP, is the developer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Washington, where she also serves as Director of the Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics. Dr. Linehan’s primary research has focused on developing and evaluating evidence-based treatments for individuals experiencing severe suicidal crises and multiple, complex mental disorders.
Dr. Linehan’s contributions to suicide research and clinical psychology have been recognized through numerous awards, including the 2017 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology and the 2016 Career/Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
Her academic and clinical achievements have also been recognized through awards such as the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Application of Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation and the James McKeen Cattell Award from the Association for Psychological Science. In recognition of her contributions, the American Association of Suicidology established the Marsha Linehan Award, which is presented to researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the treatment of suicidal behavior.
Dr. Linehan is also a Zen master and has taught mindfulness and meditation through workshops and retreats for health professionals.
A Dedication from Marsha Linehan
In the afternoons at my retreat center, I often take walks while holding in my heart all the people in this world who are suffering from mental disorders. I silently say to them, “Today, you do not have to carry this suffering alone. Today, I am carrying it with you.” When I dance in the hallways of my home or dance together with participants in a group, I invite into my heart all the clients across this earth who are struggling with emotional pain, and I dance with them in spirit.
I dedicate this book to all clients everywhere. You may sometimes feel that no one is thinking about you. If it were possible, I would gladly practice these skills for you so that you could live peacefully without having to struggle through the practice yourself. But if I did that, you would never learn how to use the skills on your own. It is my sincere hope that you will use these skills as practical tools to help build your own life worth living.
— Marsha M. Linehan
About the Translators
Yong Cho, PhD
Yong Cho, PhD, is a psychologist licensed in New York State and the founder and president of The Tree Group and the DBT Institute of Korea. After graduating from the University of Utah, he earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The New School for Social Research.
He began his clinical training at Beth Israel Medical Center in 1997. In 1998, he continued formal psychotherapy and DBT clinical training at Zucker Hillside Hospital / Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York. He completed an APA-accredited internship program at the same hospital. Beginning in the early 2000s, he became one of the first clinicians to apply DBT with Korean and Asian clients experiencing emotion dysregulation, borderline personality disorder, and Hwa-Byung symptoms.
He also established the Asian American Family Clinic within the hospital system, where he provided psychotherapy for clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. His work was featured in The New York Times and other media outlets.
In 2003, he founded The Tree Group in Korea, where he has provided evidence-based psychotherapy programs including DBT, Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), and behavior therapy. In 2007, through collaboration with Marsha M. Linehan and DBT specialists in Seattle, he established the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Center of Korea under The Tree Group. In 2008, he invited Dr. Linehan to Korea and organized a DBT professional workshop.
In 2023, he founded the DBT Institute of Korea, a professional training institute dedicated to the ethical dissemination and implementation of DBT. During 2023–2024, he collaborated with Behavioral Tech to organize the official DBT Intensive Training program in Korea. He currently provides DBT treatment and education for Korean- and English-speaking adults, adolescents, parents, and families as both a clinician and educator.
Songhee Chae, M.A
Songhee Chae graduated from the Department of Psychology at Ewha Womans University and received her master’s degree in psychology from the same institution. She completed clinical training through a collaborative program between The Tree Group / DBT Center of Korea and Evidence Based Treatment Centers of Seattle (EBTCS) in Seattle, United States. In 2008, she completed the official DBT Intensive Training program conducted by Behavioral Tech.
Since 2007, she has provided treatment based on the standard Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program. Her clinical work has focused on treatment and consultation for clients and families experiencing chronic and complex difficulties, including emotion dysregulation, self-destructive behaviors, emotional and behavioral problems, and autism spectrum disorder.
Drawing on this clinical experience, she has also continued to participate in the translation of books related to DBT and Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE). In 2008, she served as Operations Director for a workshop featuring Marsha M. Linehan.
As Vice President of the DBT Institute of Korea, which was founded in accordance with Dr. Linehan’s educational philosophy of DBT, she has overseen the 2023–2024 DBT Intensive Training programs and various educational initiatives, dedicating her work to the dissemination of DBT education in Korea.
