DBT Diary Card Template: How It's Used in Everyday Practice
If you've been in DBT for a while, you probably know the diary card well. It's one of those tools that makes sense in session—your therapist explains it, you fill it out together, and it seems straightforward enough.
But then comes the week between sessions. Real life happens, emotions spike and dip, and somehow the diary card stays blank until the night before your next appointment. You end up filling it out from memory, guessing at intensity levels, unsure which skills you actually used and which you just thought about using.
When this keeps happening, it's usually not a motivation issue—it's a lack of structure when emotions are high.
Common Friction Points With Diary Cards
Most people who struggle with diary cards aren't struggling with the concept. They understand why tracking matters. The friction tends to show up in more practical ways:
- Forgetting to track during busy or emotional days
- Filling out entries days later when details have faded
- Feeling overwhelmed by the number of things to track
- Losing paper cards or not having them when you need them
- Skipping entries on difficult days when tracking feels like too much
- Feeling guilty about gaps, which makes it harder to start again
These patterns are common and expected. They don't mean you're doing DBT wrong.
Why This Is Hard Outside Therapy Sessions
Therapy happens once a week. Life happens every day.
In session, you have your therapist's support, a structured environment, and time set aside specifically for reflection. Between sessions, you're navigating work, relationships, unexpected stressors, and all the moments when emotions don't wait for convenient timing.
The diary card asks you to pause and reflect during exactly the moments when pausing feels hardest. Insight doesn't equal recall under stress. Knowing that tracking helps doesn't automatically translate into remembering to track when anxiety spikes or after a difficult conversation.
Key Sections of a Diary Card
A typical DBT diary card includes several sections:
Emotions: List what you felt throughout the day using specific words. Instead of "bad," try "frustrated," "anxious," or "overwhelmed." Being specific helps you better understand your emotional landscape.
Skills Practiced: Note which DBT skills you used—mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness. Tracking the skills you practiced reinforces their application in daily life.
Urges: Identify any urges you experienced, whether related to substances, emotional reactions, or specific behaviors. Recognizing these urges is the first step in managing them.
Events/Triggers: Write down significant events or triggers that impacted your emotions. Understanding these triggers can help you prepare for or respond to them more effectively.
Reflections: Space for additional thoughts—what worked, what didn't, insights from the day.
A Simple Template Structure
| Date | Emotions | Skills Practiced | Urges | Events/Triggers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YYYY-MM-DD | List your emotions | List skills used | Describe urges | Describe triggers | Any reflections |
Digital vs Printable: Use Both
| Format | When It Helps | Keep in Mind |
|---|---|---|
| Printable (Crisis Kit) | Offline days, therapy groups, building muscle memory | Download the DBT Crisis Kit PDF and stash a copy in your bag |
| Digital (DBT Pal) | On-the-go tracking, fast urge logging, exports | Entries stay private on your device until you choose to export them |
Switching between formats isn't a failure. The goal is to capture data in any format that keeps you consistent.
Turn the Template into a Digital Workflow
- Download and duplicate the crisis kit template plus any therapist-provided sheets.
- Customize skill lists so only the skills you use most stay visible.
- Set a reminder in DBT Pal or your phone to log before bed and after spikes.
- Transcribe paper notes into DBT Pal using the digital diary walkthrough so everything ends up in one place.
- Review weekly by exporting a PDF or CSV to share with your therapist ahead of session.
How DBT Pal Helps
DBT Pal is designed as a lightweight support layer for daily practice. Instead of trying to remember what you felt three days ago when filling out a paper card, you can log emotions and skills in the moment—or whenever you have a few seconds.
What This Looks Like in Daily Use
- Log emotions and urges without needing paper or a specific time
- See skills grouped by category when deciding what might help
- Build a habit without needing to be perfect
- Keep everything in one place instead of scattered notes
- Review patterns over time to share with your therapist
When This Is Helpful (and When It Might Not Be)
This kind of support tends to help most once DBT is already part of your daily life—when you're actively working with a therapist, practicing skills regularly, and looking for ways to make tracking easier.
If you're early in DBT or exploring whether this approach fits you, some of this structure may not feel necessary yet. That's okay.
A Gentle Starting Point
If you're looking for a low-pressure way to support your diary card practice, DBT Pal offers a simple way to track between sessions. Duplicate the DBT Crisis Kit template, pair it with the app, and you have both printable and digital versions ready for anything. It's about reducing friction, not adding pressure.
For more on diary cards and DBT practice, you might also find these helpful: