Diary Cards
Daily tracking tool for emotions, urges, and skill use.
The diary card is a daily self-monitoring tool used in DBT. You fill it out every day and review it weekly with your therapist or skills group.
What You Track
- Emotions — Rate intensity of key emotions (sadness, anger, shame, joy, etc.) on a 0–5 scale
- Urges — Rate the intensity of any urges to engage in target behaviors (self-harm, substance use, etc.)
- Actions — Did you act on any urges? Yes/No
- Skills used — Which DBT skills did you practice today?
- SUD rating — Overall subjective distress level (0–10)
Why It Works
The diary card does several things at once:
- Builds self-awareness — you start noticing patterns you'd otherwise miss
- Creates accountability — tracking skill use motivates you to actually practice
- Guides therapy — your therapist uses it to know what to focus on each week
- Measures progress — over weeks and months, you can see change happening
The diary card isn't homework to be graded — it's a tool for you. Even filling it out halfway is better than not at all. The act of noticing and recording is itself a mindfulness practice.
How to Use It
- Fill it out at the same time each day (many people do it before bed)
- Be honest — the card is only useful if it reflects reality
- Don't overthink the ratings — your first instinct is usually close enough
- Bring it to every session or group meeting
Real-Life Examples
Scenario: You tell your therapist "I felt terrible all week" but when they ask for specifics, you can't remember what days were bad or what triggered it. Skill in action: You start using a Diary Card: each night before bed, you spend 2 minutes rating your emotions (0-5), noting any skills you used, and flagging urges. After one week, you see a pattern: your worst days are Mondays and Thursdays — both days you have meetings with a specific coworker. Now you have actionable data instead of just a vague sense of misery.
Scenario: You think you "never" use your DBT skills, and you feel like you're not making progress in recovery. Skill in action: Your diary card tells a different story: you used STOP twice this week, practiced Paced Breathing three times, and caught yourself catastrophizing once (Check the Facts). You're using skills more than you realize — your brain just doesn't track the successes without written evidence. The card becomes proof of progress.