Monitoring Change over time in DBT: DBT Diary Cards

In DBT, behavior patterns are monitored by self-report in diary cards.  These diary cards look like a table with a list of behaviors on the left and seven boxes that have ratings of 0 to 5 of the intensity of the urge for each day of the week; asterisks are placed adjacent to the rating if the adolescent acted on the urge. 

For example, an adolescent, whose target is cutting, experiences the urge to cut as a 4, which would be noted as 4* if she did decide to cut; see the left corner, so look at Monday and the urge column. 

Diary cards are filled out by the adolescent each day, often around bedtime.  The backside of the diary card tracks skill use with a similar chart system, as the adolescent places a check mark beside the skills she used each day.  This side is also important for the skills trainers to see that the adolescent is practicing the skills presented in the DBT skills group. 

There is a section of the diary card that asks for the number of times the adolescent filled out the card, as it can be difficult to remember or desire to find and fill out the diary card consistently.  See the upper right corner.

Sammy Banawan developed the DBT Diary Card app that is available in the App Store for $4.99.  The app keeps track of entries that can be downloaded and printed by the adolescent for use in individual therapy.