Fast-acting “emotional rescue” tools grounded in proven-effective DBT to help you find quick relief from intense thoughts and feelings, as well as core emotion regulation skills to help you stay balanced.

Do you have difficulty managing your emotions? If you’re like most people, the answer is most likely an emphatic, “Yes!” Dealing with emotions is challenging, and it’s easy to misunderstand those feelings—especially in the heat of the moment when it feels like they’re ganging up on you from all directions. Getting hijacked by your emotions can leave you feeling helpless—with nowhere to go and nothing or no one to help you. If only you had tools at the ready to extinguish the turmoil before it starts raging.

In this breakthrough workbook, renowned dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) expert Sheri Van Dijk delivers fast-acting emotional rescue tools that you can put into practice right now to effectively manage your feelings and prevent meltdowns. You’ll learn essential skills for staying calm when things feel overwhelming—including mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. Putting these newfound skills into practice will help you take charge of your emotions, reduce pain and suffering, focus more on positive feelings, and improve your overall quality of life.

Dealing with emotions is tricky; the good news is you no longer have to go it alone. If you’re tired of trying and failing to find balance—and want fast relief from the emotional storm—this workbook has you covered.

This emotional “quick-rescue” kit will help you:

• Understand and identify your emotions
• Reduce emotional reactivity and mood swings
• Increase self-awareness and self-compassion
• Get unstuck from unhealthy thinking and behavior patterns
• Find balance when emotions are too intense

Sheri Van Dijk's profile page

Sheri Van Dijk, MSW, is a psychotherapist, and renowned dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) expert. She is author of several books, including Calming the Emotional Storm, Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens, and The Self-Harm Workbook for Teens. Her books focus on using DBT skills to help people manage their emotions and cultivate lasting well-being. She is also the recipient of the R.O. Jones Award from the Canadian Psychiatric Association.

“Ecstatic to see a workbook written for anyone who feels overwhelmed by intense emotions. Sheri Van Dijk helps the reader understand emotional processes, and how anyone can reduce emotional pain and suffering. Every chapter has rescue skills that are quick and easy to learn and can be used immediately. The tools and handouts can be used over and over whenever difficult emotions arise. Sheri is encouraging and supportive for you to practice and use these skills so that you can experience something different and gain confidence in how these skills work.”
—Lisa Porret, MSc, registered psychologist in private practice for nearly two decades with emphasis on clinical psychology

Lisa Porret, MSc

“In this quintessential workbook, Sheri Van Dijk dives into integrative DBT strategies for both practitioners and clients alike. Throughout, one will discover novel, practical, and effective approaches to break free of old patterns, gain personal clarity, and experience emotional relief. The masterful use of realistic vignettes validates the human experience and motivates the reader to implement practices for lasting change.”
—Ita Tobis, MSW, RSW, clinical trauma therapist, and director of campus programming for Courage 2 Change

Ita Tobis, MSW, RSW

“Sheri Van Dijk’s The DBT Workbook for Emotional Relief is a practical, coherent guide to understanding intense and often overwhelming emotions. Easy-to-follow worksheets make the array of skills in each chapter accessible and doable! I love how she invites the reader to hopefulness, with practices that affirm our own ability to create positive and pleasurable emotional experiences! I look forward to using this amazing resource myself, and with my clients!”
—Kinsey Lewis, registered psychotherapist, and certified trauma specialist with over twenty-five years of experience in community mental health in Ontario, Canada

Kinsey Lewis

“The DBT Workbook for Emotional Relief is one of Sheri’s best. The book is filled with insightful DBT exercises and self-assessment work to help you get through emotional pain and distress. I’m looking forward to suggesting this book to all my clients and those in the mental health care profession.”
—Jackson Yee, health coach/teacher

Jackson Yee

“In this workbook, Van Dijk offers us an incredibly insightful and compassionate guide to understanding and managing difficult emotions. Whether you’re struggling to manage your emotions or looking to optimize the skills you already have to thrive, this workbook is written with you in mind. It’s simple to follow and is written with clarity and precision to help you through every step in the process of cultivating well-being.”
—Zainib Abdullah, MSW, RSW, RYT, cofounder and clinical director at Wellnest Psychotherapy Services in Toronto, ON, Canada

Zainib Abdullah, MSW, RSW, RYT

“Sheri’s workbook outlines a range of very effective tools and strategies that will help you remain compassionate, accepting, and responsive to your own needs in moments when you feel overwhelmed. Her workbook is easy to understand and provides the reader with good examples of how to effectively implement these tools.”
—Sabrina Tuzi, MSW, RSW, adult crisis worker at Southlake Regional Health Centre

Sabrina Tuzi, MSW, RSW

“Intense emotional responses that leave you feeling out of control and often alienated can feel impossible to navigate. This workbook is a must-read for anyone who is looking for skills that are quick and effective in finding relief and reclaiming control over their emotions.”
—Jodi-Lyn Knoop, MSW, RSW, psychotherapist, and founder and CEO of Turning Stones Therapy

Jodi-Lyn Knoop, MSW, RSW

“This book interweaves theory and practice into an invitation to be curious and explore our personal challenges at a flexible pace. It succeeds with integrating the many components of DBT in a manner that both introduces and expands the reader’s understanding of emotion regulation. Sheri reminds us that regulation is a ‘skill,’ and there are times we all need more practice. The reader finds permission to explore the contributors to their emotional dysregulation, and a variety exercises that help to restore balance. The ‘Rescue Skills’ provided offer an opportunity to deepen our experience of the material, while offering a tool for the times we feel overwhelmed.”
—Leanne M. Garfinkel, MA, SEP, RP, in private practice in Uxbridge, ON, Canada

Leanne M. Garfinkel, MA, SEP, RP

“As an active psychiatrist treating individuals who have trouble ‘doing life,’ this practical workbook will be my go-to recommendation for them to read. The very simple, both easy-to-read and implement parasympathetic power techniques that Van Dijk teaches, will surely pay off to enhance anyone’s interpersonal relationships.”
—Stephen B. Stokl, MD, FRC.P (C), assistant (adjunct) professor of psychiatry, and faculty of medicine at the University of Toronto; and author of Mentally Speaking

Stephen B. Stokl, MD, FRC.P (C),