IMPROVE the Moment
Seven DBT skills for making a painful moment more bearable when you cannot change the situation right now.
About this tool
IMPROVE the moment is a set of distress tolerance skills from dialectical behavior therapy. Where distraction skills move your attention away from pain, IMPROVE works by changing your experience of the moment itself, making it gentler and more bearable until the situation changes or the feeling passes.
These skills are for the times when you cannot solve a problem right now and you cannot escape it either. A hard hour at work, a sleepless night, waiting for news. Rather than white-knuckling through, IMPROVE gives you ways to soothe yourself and find a small measure of steadiness in the middle of difficulty.
IMPROVE stands for Imagery, Meaning, Prayer, Relaxation, One thing in the moment, Vacation, and Encouragement. Prayer here means connecting to something larger than yourself in whatever way fits you, religious or not. As with all DBT skills, practicing these when calm makes them far easier to reach for when you are struggling.
- Linehan MM. DBT Skills Training Manual. 2nd ed. Guilford Press; 2015.
- Linehan MM. DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets. 2nd ed. Guilford Press; 2015.
IMPROVE the Moment FAQ
What does IMPROVE stand for?
Imagery, Meaning, Prayer, Relaxation, One thing in the moment, Vacation, and Encouragement. They are seven DBT skills for making a painful moment more bearable when you cannot change the situation.
What is the difference between IMPROVE and ACCEPTS?
ACCEPTS distracts your attention away from the pain. IMPROVE changes your experience of the moment itself to make it gentler. Both are DBT distress tolerance skills and work well together.
Do I have to be religious to use the prayer skill?
No. Prayer here means connecting to something larger than yourself in whatever way fits you, which can include nature, humanity, or your deeper values rather than a religious practice.