Dialectical Behavior Therapy

DBT STOP Skill worksheet

Create a pause between an intense emotion or urge and an action that may not serve your goals.

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Purpose

What this handout is designed to support.

STOP is a brief distress-tolerance skill for interrupting automatic action long enough to observe what is happening and choose the next effective step.

How to use it

  • Stop before acting on the strongest urge
  • Create physical or mental space
  • Observe facts, assumptions, emotions, urges, and body sensations
  • Proceed with the action that best serves short- and long-term goals

Related counseling information

Connect the worksheet to a larger plan.

Worksheets are most useful when they support a clear goal and are adapted to the person using them.

ADHD and emotional-regulation counseling

Clinical review: Travis McKie-Voerste, PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS · Reviewed August 4, 2026