Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet

Give your client an Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive DBT to help them identify people who can provide support when needed.

By Patricia Buenaventura on Aug 2, 2025.

Fact Checked by Ericka Pingol.

Use Template

What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?

In the 1980s, psychologist Marshall M. Linehan created a type of evidence-based psychotherapy called dialectical behavior therapy or DBT therapy. During their time, it was used to treat clients with bipolar disorder. It also treats other mental health conditions like substance abuse, eating disorders, anxiety, and depression.

, or DBT, has roots in cognitive-behavioral therapy and includes a combination of Eastern philosophical concepts and mindfulness practices. With these, the referring physician helps the client accept their desires and emotions as well as make better and positive changes in their life by giving them the exercises and tools to develop four significant skills:

Mindfulness: The client must learn to be more aware and better accept their feelings and thoughts or experiences in the present.
Distress Tolerance: The client must learn to utilize coping techniques that aren’t self-destructive when overcoming challenging times.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: The client must identify and be firm with their feelings and desires to improve their interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships.
Emotional Regulation: The client must learn to deal with the first/primary reactions to an event before they turn into secondary emotions.

These skills are usually honed through individual sessions, group therapy sessions, and telephone crisis/phone coaching as recommended by a psychologist, psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse, referring physician, or therapist with a DBT certification.

Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet Template

Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet PDF Template

Use Template

Download

Download PDF Template

How to use the Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet:

Access and Download the Template

Access and download the digital and printable version of the Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet by doing either of the following:

Clicking the “Download Template” or “Use Template” button
Searching “Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet” in Carepatron’s template library search bar on the app or website.

Fill Out the Template

Since the template has straightforward instructions, you may give your client a copy of the worksheet to answer and additional copies if they have more than one person they can trust since it’s recommended that only one person be featured per worksheet. It’s best to remind them that you’re still around to clarify any section or answer any questions they may have.

Discuss with the Client

Once the client finishes the worksheet, you may discuss the answers with them if they consent. It’d be helpful to ask if they can quickly contact trustworthy people during challenging times or provide them with contact information for emergency and non-emergency support if they don’t have anyone they can trust.

Securely Store

The completed worksheet no doubt carries sensitive information, so ask your client to store the physical copy securely and the digital copy on Carepatron. On Carepatron, you’re assured that you, the referring physician, and the client can only access your completed template.

When would you use this Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet?

Healthcare practitioners who have a DBT certification or psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychologists, social workers, and family therapists may use and provide their clients a copy of this Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet template before their client embarks on their journey or during their journey towards healing through the treatment plan you’ve formulated for them.

We’ll leave it up to you to decide when to give your client a copy of the worksheet. You would know best when they need to identify the resources they may need in the form of people who support them or organizations/websites that specialize in helping people with the same diagnosis/case as your client.

What are the benefits of using this Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet?

Improves Relationships

In certain situations, identifying the people the client trusts helps encourage them to open up to the person, which may improve their relationship. They aren’t only outwardly showing that they trust that person, but showing vulnerability has also proved to enhance relationships.

Provides More Insight

If the worksheet is given early on, you can know more about the client’s situation and resources, or lack thereof. Furthermore, you’ll learn more about the client, how trusting they are, how easy/hard it is for them to build trust, how quickly/slowly they form relationships, etc.

Aids in Treatment Planning

By knowing who or if the client can rely on during tough times, you can better formulate a treatment plan, including the type of sessions you will have them attend or exercises you will ask them to do.

Easily Accessible

If you decide to use a digital file of our free Identifying Trustworthy and Supportive People DBT Worksheet, you’ll be happy to know that you can efficiently complete and access it on a local PDF editor on any gadget you have. Furthermore, store the completed template on Carepatron, and only you, the referring physician, and your client can access the worksheet if needed.

Commonly asked questions

A client may take around 30 minutes or more, depending on how many people they find trustworthy who can support them.

It can help clients identify the people they can rely on for support on their healing journey. On the other hand, practitioners can use the worksheet to determine the patient's resources, and what type of sessions they can conduct/activities they can have the patient do.

It’s best used at the beginning of the client’s journey with the referring physician or when the client needs to be reminded of the help they can ask for during tough times.