Sheri Van Dijk - Surviving the Emotional Roller Coaster: DBT Skills to Help Teens Manage Emotions

Sheri Van Dijk has written an accessible workbook that includes useful exercises and relevant examples to help young people grow their knowledge and skills in managing their painful emotions. I will recommend this book to my adolescent clients and parents who consult me.

Karma Guindon, MSW, PhD (candidate), RSW, RMFT, therapist in private practice, and lecturer at the University of Waterloo

Surviving the Emotional Roller Coaster is an invaluable resource to any teen, parent, or professional who is dealing with the complex nature of emotional dysregulation. Sheri Van Dijk has found an eloquent and understandable way of explaining comprehensive dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) concepts to an audience that will greatly benefit. As a clinician, I plan to refer to and draw from her book in my daily practice.

Wendy Hofmann, MSW, RSW, clinical social worker, and partner at Hofmann & Isaac Individual and Family Counselling in Aurora, Ontario, Canada

This skill-based book brings together an array of dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)-based strategies in a well laid out, uniquely easy-to-read fashion. Surviving the Emotional Roller Coaster is a must-read as it conveys hope and encouragement to a population that has typically been seen as a clinical challenge. This resource gives readers a practical treatment plan which will undoubtedly lead them on a road to wellness.

Michael Isaac, MEd, RSW, clinical social worker, and partner at Hofmann & Isaac Individual and Family Counselling in Aurora, Ontario, Canada

In Surviving the Emotional Roller Coaster, Sheri Van Dijk has again written an engaging and user-friendly book. For teens whose emotions make their life feel as if they are on a roller coaster, this book provides hope as Van Dijk has explained the skills of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) in an understandable and easy-to-follow manner. There are plenty of examples and exercises making this an interactive book. I would definitely recommend this book to clients both young and older.

Marilyn Becker, MSW, RSW, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills therapist in private practice in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada

Surviving the Emotional Roller Coaster is a remarkably helpful resource for teenagers and parents, and practitioners working with teenagers. Sheri Van Dijks user-friendly workbook offers valuable knowledge and practical skills to help teenagers gain an understanding and awareness of their emotions and learn to manage difficult emotions, and provides guidance to surviving crises with calm. She has done a wonderful job at providing simple practices to help teenagers effectively deal with challenges in their relationships.

Zainib Abdullah, MSW, RSW, mental health therapist and crisis worker at Southlake Regional Health Centre

Surviving the Emotional Roller Coaster is a practical guide modified to provide relevant information for teenagers coping with managing their emotions in todays unusually demanding world. Practicing and using the techniques described in this book affects the ability to regulate emotions, shape a sense of self, and healthy emotional development. I would venture to say that this book is a must-read for all teenagers and those around them.

Rennet Wong-Gates, MSW, RSW, child, youth, and family therapist

This excellent resource is filled with great examples and practice exercises that teens can relate to. Van Dijk emphasizes the importance of learning and practicing skills at ones own pace with the goal of making life changes to reduce suffering associated with escalating emotions.

Francine Brill, MD, FRCP(C), child and adolescent psychiatrist in private practice in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, and consultant to New Path Youth and Family Services

Sheri Van Dijk has hit it out of the amusement park with this skill-based approach to surviving the emotional roller coaster. She effectively helps her readers to identify their overwhelming emotions and their behavioral challenges while equipping them with practical strategies to successfully manage them. This clear, step-by-step description of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills will indisputably help teens to navigate the twists and turns of their emotional journey. I will definitely recommend this engaging, easy-to-use manual to my clients and their families, and I will keep it close by as a guide in helping my teen clients to traverse their social and emotional challenges.

Francine Mendelowitz, LCSW, psychotherapist and founder of InterACT New York, an interactive approach to tackling teen challenges

Publishers Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Copyright 2016 by Sheri Van Dijk

Instant Help

An imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

5674 Shattuck Avenue

Oakland, CA 94609

www.newharbinger.com

Cover design by Amy Shoup

Acquired by Tesilya Hanauer

Edited by Karen Schader

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Van Dijk, Sheri, author.

Surviving the emotional roller coaster : DBT skills to help teens manage emotions / Sheri Van Dijk, MSW.

pages cm. -- (The instant help solutions series)

ISBN 978-1-62625-240-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-62625-241-7 (pdf e-book) ISBN 978-1-62625-242-4 (epub) 1. Emotions in adolescence--Juvenile literature. 2. Dialectical behavior therapy--Juvenile literature. I. Title.

BF724.3.E5V363 2016

155.5124--dc23

2015032491

If this book has caught your eye, chances are you know all too well about the emotional roller coasterand you know that its not a fun ride. In fact, it can be quite painful and scary (not in a good way) and can lead to a lot of other difficulties in your life, including mood problems like depression and anxiety, or complications in relationships. In turn, these issues can lead to problematic behaviors like self-harm, substance abuse, eating disorders, or aggression toward others. If any of these things sound familiar, this book is for you; it will help you survive the roller coaster and teach you skills to help you manage your emotions so that youre in control of your life, rather than just being a passenger along for the ride. Of course, the skills in this book can also help you not climb aboard the roller coaster to begin with!

Unfortunately, emotional pain is part of life; theres no avoiding it. Someone leaves us and we feel hurt or afraid. We dont get something we really want and we feel sad or angry. Someone dies and we feel grief, loss, and loneliness. Most of us understand that these experiences are normalthat the hurt, disappointment, anger, sadness, and so on are unavoidable. Most people know that emotional pain is just thatpainfulbut like all pain, it will pass. Most people can understand why they feel the way they do, and so they can allow themselves to experience whatever theyre feeling and gradually move on.