TIPP crisis card
Two wallet-sized cards with your own version of the four physiological skills, filled in and cut out.
PDF, 1 page, 2.7 kB. US Letter, prints in black and white. No email required.
When to use it
Fill it in now. Use it when arousal is so high that reading anything longer is not possible.
How to fill it in
- Decide your actual version of each one and write it down. Which sink, which stairs, which breathing count.
- Remove the friction in advance: a bowl in the bathroom cupboard, a cloth in the freezer.
- Cut along the lines. Keep one card in a wallet and one by the bed.
- When you need it, do the top one first. Cold water works within about thirty seconds.
The thing that makes it useless
Cold water immersion changes heart rate directly. If you have a cardiac condition, low blood pressure, an eating disorder, are pregnant, or take beta blockers, speak to a doctor first and use paced breathing meanwhile.
The other worksheets
An original worksheet implementing skills that are widely taught and publicly described. It is not a reproduction of the published DBT handouts, which are copyrighted by their publisher, and nothing here is affiliated with or endorsed by the developers of DBT. If you are in a programme, use whatever your team gives you — a diary card your therapist designed is the one they will be reading.
General information, not clinical advice; the people described are composites, not real clients. DBT skills are not a substitute for treatment or for a safety plan. Listings on this site are maintained by independent practices. If you are in immediate danger, call 911; the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text any time.