Deliberate practice exercises allow students and trainees to rehearse foundational dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills and strategies to respond effectively and flexibly to diverse, complex clinical presentations and situations.

Each book in the Essentials of Deliberate Practice series contains customized role-playing exercises in which two trainees act as a client and a therapist, switching back and forth under a supervisor's guidance. The trainee playing the therapist improvises appropriate and authentic responses to client statements organized into three difficulty levels-beginner, intermediate, and advanced-reflecting common issues encountered by DBT practitioners.

The first 12 exercises each focus on a single skill, such as validating clients, encouraging commitment to therapeutic goals, teaching problem-solving skills, and working with clients in crisis or expressing suicidal ideation. Following these are two comprehensive exercises-an annotated transcript and free-form mock therapy sessions-in which trainees integrate essential skills into a single DBT session.

Step-by-step instructions guide participants through the exercises, identify criteria for mastering each skill, and explain how to monitor and adjust difficulty. Guidelines to help trainers and trainees get the most out of training are also provided.

Deliberate practice exercises provide trainees and students an opportunity to build competence essential rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) skills while developing their own personal therapeutic style.
 
These exercises present role-playing scenarios in which two trainees act as a client and a clinician, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The clinician improvises appropriate and authentic responses to client statements organized into three difficulty levels—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—that reflect common client questions and concerns.
 
Each of the first 12 exercises focuses on a single skill, such as psychoeducation, assessing and disputing irrational beliefs, helping clients differentiate maladaptive vs. adaptive behaviors and emotions, teaching clients the ABC model, and developing homework assignments. Two comprehensive exercises follow in which trainees integrate these essential skills into a single REBT session.
 
Step-by-step instructions guide participants through the exercises, identify criteria for mastering each skill, and explain how to monitor and adjust difficulty. Guidelines to help trainers and trainees get the most out of training are also provided.

Deliberate practice exercises provide trainees and students opportunities to develop a more multicultural, intersectional approach to psychotherapy and hone their own personal therapeutic style.
 
These exercises present role-playing scenarios in which two trainees act as a client and a clinician, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The clinician improvises appropriate and authentic responses to client statements organized into three difficulty levels—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—that reflect common client questions and concerns.
 
Each of the first 13 exercises focuses on a single skill, such as developing cultural self-awareness and cultural humility, exploring cultural implications and explanations of clients’ concerns, and repairing culturally based ruptures in the working alliance. Two comprehensive exercises follow in which trainees integrate these essential skills into a single multicultural therapy session.
 
Step-by-step instructions guide participants through the exercises, identify criteria for mastering each skill, and explain how to monitor and adjust difficulty. Guidelines to help trainers and trainees get the most out of training are also provided.